The Funeral.com Journal

Resources to help you create tributes as unique as the people (and pets) you love. Learn how engraving, photos, colors, and symbols add meaning; discover scattering rituals and at-home memorial ideas. We focus on the details that matter—because small choices can carry a lifetime of comfort.

Ashes Memorial Jewelry: How It’s Made, How Much Ashes You Need, and How to Fill Jewelry at Home

Ashes Memorial Jewelry: How It’s Made, How Much Ashes You Need, and How to Fill Jewelry at Home

There’s a moment after cremation when the practical questions arrive in a wave. The phone call that the remains are ready. The careful handoff of a temporary container. The quiet...

Funeral Flowers and Color Meanings: How to Choose the Right Sympathy Arrangement

Funeral Flowers and Color Meanings: How to Choose the Right Sympathy Arrangement

Standing in front of a florist’s cooler—or scrolling through pages of arrangements late at night—can make grief feel even louder. You want to show up with something kind, something appropriate,...

Turning Ashes Into Diamonds: How It Works, How Much Material You Need, and Cost Factors

Turning Ashes Into Diamonds: How It Works, How Much Material You Need, and Cost Factors

When a family chooses cremation, the hardest decisions often arrive after the paperwork is finished and everyone has gone home. There’s a container of remains, a quiet house, and a...

14K Gold Cremation Jewelry: How to Choose a Real Gold Urn Necklace (Plus a Price Guide)

14K Gold Cremation Jewelry: How to Choose a Real Gold Urn Necklace (Plus a Price Guide)

If you’re searching for a 14k gold cremation necklace, you’re probably carrying two needs at once: you want something beautiful enough to wear every day, and you want something secure...

How to Fill a Cremation Urn (and What an “Urn Filler” Is): Tools, Tips, and Clean Transfers

How to Fill a Cremation Urn (and What an “Urn Filler” Is): Tools, Tips, and Clean Transfers

When the cremation process is complete, many families are surprised by what happens next: the ashes usually come home in a temporary container, and at some point you have to...

Judaism and Cremation: Beliefs by Tradition and What Families Can Do

Judaism and Cremation: Beliefs by Tradition and What Families Can Do

When a family is facing loss, decisions can arrive faster than grief can catch up. Sometimes the questions come before the goodbye. Sometimes they come after—when a loved one has...

Shipping, Returns, and Tracking for Online Memorial Purchases: A Buyer’s Checklist

Shipping, Returns, and Tracking for Online Memorial Purchases: A Buyer’s Checklist

When you’re ordering memorial items online, you’re rarely in a “normal” shopping mindset. You might be making decisions quickly because a service date is approaching, or slowly because you’re still...

How Long Can You Wait to Hold a Memorial After Cremation?

How Long Can You Wait to Hold a Memorial After Cremation?

In the days after a death, families often expect that there is a “right” order of events: a service, a burial, a gathering, a clear ending. But cremation changes the...

How Cremation Works: The Science of Heat, Bone Processing, and Why It’s Not the Same as Burns

How Cremation Works: The Science of Heat, Bone Processing, and Why It’s Not the Same as Burns

If you’ve ever caught yourself googling how does cremation work at 2 a.m., you’re not alone. Families often want a clear, respectful explanation—something more grounded than internet myths, but not...

Memorial Options When You Only Have a Small Amount of Ashes

Memorial Options When You Only Have a Small Amount of Ashes

Sometimes you expect to receive “the ashes,” and instead you find yourself holding a small container that feels surprisingly light. Or you already scattered most of the remains and kept...

Flying With Cremated Remains: TSA Rules, Airline Tips, and Travel-Friendly Urns

Flying With Cremated Remains: TSA Rules, Airline Tips, and Travel-Friendly Urns

Traveling with someone’s ashes can feel oddly heavy in a way that isn’t just physical. You’re carrying love, responsibility, and a plan you don’t want to mess up—while moving through...

How to Write and Deliver a Eulogy: Simple Structure, Examples, and Speaking Tips

How to Write and Deliver a Eulogy: Simple Structure, Examples, and Speaking Tips

If you’re writing a eulogy, this beginner-friendly guide walks you through a clear structure (opening, stories, values, closing) and practical speaking tips for a calm, heartfelt delivery. You’ll also find...

Which Urns Last the Longest? Durability by Material, Sealing Tips, and How to Choose the Right Urn

Which Urns Last the Longest? Durability by Material, Sealing Tips, and How to Choose the Right Urn

When families ask “which urns last the longest,” they’re rarely asking a purely technical question. What they usually mean is: if we choose this now—during a week that already feels...

Coordinating Pet and Human Ashes: Shared Scattering, Joint Memorials, and Future Planning

Coordinating Pet and Human Ashes: Shared Scattering, Joint Memorials, and Future Planning

There are some questions families don’t expect to face until they’re already carrying them. One of them is what it means to honor more than one set of ashes in...

Which Religions Prefer Cremation? Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh Traditions and What Families Do With Ashes

Which Religions Prefer Cremation? Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh Traditions and What Families Do With Ashes

When a death happens, families often discover that the hardest decisions aren’t only practical. They’re emotional, and sometimes deeply spiritual. Even if your loved one wasn’t especially religious, faith traditions...

When a Death Involves Crime or Legal Investigation: Navigating Media, Courts, and Delays

When a Death Involves Crime or Legal Investigation: Navigating Media, Courts, and Delays

When a death is connected to a crime, suspected foul play, or an active legal investigation, grief rarely arrives on its own. It comes layered with shock, fear, and the...