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.

Headstone vs. Grave Marker vs. Gravestone: Differences and How to Choose

Headstone vs. Grave Marker vs. Gravestone: Differences and How to Choose

If you’ve ever found yourself typing headstone vs grave marker into a search bar late at night, you’re not alone. This is one of those funeral-planning details that feels deceptively...

Wanting to Rest with Your Pet Someday: How to Talk with Family and Plan Ahead

Wanting to Rest with Your Pet Someday: How to Talk with Family and Plan Ahead

There are some wishes that sit quietly in the background for years, until a birthday, a holiday, or a sudden loss brings them into focus. Wanting to be laid to...

Should You Buy a Headstone Before You Need It? Pros, Cons, and Planning Tips

Should You Buy a Headstone Before You Need It? Pros, Cons, and Planning Tips

For most families, a headstone is something you choose after a death—when the grave is fresh, the paperwork is still unfolding, and the emotional weight of “making it final” feels...

Burial in a National Cemetery: Eligibility, Costs, and How to Apply

Burial in a National Cemetery: Eligibility, Costs, and How to Apply

When a loved one served, families often carry two realities at the same time: pride and grief, gratitude and paperwork, the desire to honor a life well-lived and the need...

Understanding Your Cemetery Contract: Plot Rights, Fees, and Long-Term Obligations

Understanding Your Cemetery Contract: Plot Rights, Fees, and Long-Term Obligations

In a season of loss—or even in the quieter months of funeral planning—a cemetery contract can feel like a different language. The words look familiar: plot, deed, perpetual care, interment. But...

What to Do If a Headstone Is Leaning, Cracked, or Damaged

What to Do If a Headstone Is Leaning, Cracked, or Damaged

You might notice it from a distance first: a headstone that doesn’t look quite square anymore, a tilt that wasn’t there last time, a corner that seems chipped, or a...

Questions to Ask Your Pastor About Cremation, Burial, and Handling Ashes

Questions to Ask Your Pastor About Cremation, Burial, and Handling Ashes

The first time a family says the words “cremation” out loud after a death, it often sounds like a purely practical choice—simple, affordable, flexible. And sometimes it is. But for...

Cremation and Christianity: Catholic, Protestant, and Evangelical Perspectives Compared

Cremation and Christianity: Catholic, Protestant, and Evangelical Perspectives Compared

For many Christian families, cremation is not a casual decision. Even when it feels practical or familiar, it can stir deep questions about faith, resurrection, and respect for the body....

Can I Be Buried with My Pet? Human–Pet Companion Burial Options Explained

Can I Be Buried with My Pet? Human–Pet Companion Burial Options Explained

If you’ve ever looked at your dog sleeping at your feet or your cat curled up in the same sunny spot each afternoon and thought, “We’ve done life together,” it...

Pet Burial vs Cremation: Pros, Cons, Costs, and How to Decide What’s Best

Pet Burial vs Cremation: Pros, Cons, Costs, and How to Decide What’s Best

When a pet dies, you don’t just lose an animal—you lose a daily rhythm. The click of nails on the floor, the pause at the door, the weight of a...

How Much Ashes Come from a Human Body? Average Weights and What That Means for Urn Size

How Much Ashes Come from a Human Body? Average Weights and What That Means for Urn Size

One of the most practical questions families ask after a cremation is also one of the most tender: “How much is there?” You might be asking because you’re trying to...

Frequently Asked Questions About Embalming: Safety, Religion, and the Environment

Frequently Asked Questions About Embalming: Safety, Religion, and the Environment

When someone you love dies, the first decisions arrive fast—often before your heart has caught up. A funeral home may ask whether you want embalming, and the question can land...

What Is a Headstone, Exactly? Definitions, Types, and Cemetery Rules in Plain English

What Is a Headstone, Exactly? Definitions, Types, and Cemetery Rules in Plain English

When you’re grieving—or trying to plan ahead—cemetery language can feel like a second loss: unfamiliar terms, rules you didn’t know existed, and decisions that suddenly carry a lifetime of permanence....

Most Popular Types of Headstones Today: Photos, Pros and Cons, and Cost Considerations

Most Popular Types of Headstones Today: Photos, Pros and Cons, and Cost Considerations

Choosing a headstone is one of those tasks that can feel both practical and deeply personal at the same time. In the early days after a death, families are often...

What Is a Wake in Modern Funerals? Origins, Traditions, and How It Looks Today

What Is a Wake in Modern Funerals? Origins, Traditions, and How It Looks Today

If you grew up hearing the word “wake,” you might picture a home full of people who knew exactly where to stand, what to bring, and how long to stay....

Cremation vs Burial for Christians: Key Questions to Ask Your Pastor and Family

Cremation vs Burial for Christians: Key Questions to Ask Your Pastor and Family

Most Christian families don’t begin this conversation because they want to debate theology. They begin because someone they love has died—or because they can feel the reality of death drawing...