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.

Caskets for Babies and Children: Sizing, Design, and Sensitive Planning Tips

Caskets for Babies and Children: Sizing, Design, and Sensitive Planning Tips

There are losses that don’t fit into ordinary language. When a baby or child dies, parents and caregivers often describe feeling as if time has split in two: the emotional...

Eco-Friendly Caskets and Shrouds: Greener Choices for Earth Burial

Eco-Friendly Caskets and Shrouds: Greener Choices for Earth Burial

There are moments in funeral planning when the practical question in front of you is also a values question. You may be sorting through decisions about a casket, a cemetery,...

What Is a Rental Casket? How It Works for Viewings Before Cremation

What Is a Rental Casket? How It Works for Viewings Before Cremation

When a family chooses cremation, the next question often arrives quickly and quietly: “Can we still have a viewing?” For many people, seeing the person’s face one last time, hearing...

Metal vs Wood Caskets: Durability, Appearance, and Myths About Protection

Metal vs Wood Caskets: Durability, Appearance, and Myths About Protection

When you are grieving, it can feel strangely unfair to be asked to choose a casket the way you might choose a piece of furniture: metal or wood, light interior...

Buying a Headstone Online vs Through the Cemetery: Pros, Cons, and Hidden Fees

Buying a Headstone Online vs Through the Cemetery: Pros, Cons, and Hidden Fees

Buying a headstone can feel like an oddly complicated task to face in the middle of grief. It’s also one of those decisions that tends to arrive when everyone is...

Common Symbols on Headstones and What They Mean: Crosses, Flowers, Animals, and More

Common Symbols on Headstones and What They Mean: Crosses, Flowers, Animals, and More

Standing in front of a headstone for the first time can be surprisingly emotional, even if you have been “doing okay” day to day. A marker is small in the...

Headstone Fonts, Layout, and Design: Making Sure the Inscription Is Easy to Read

Headstone Fonts, Layout, and Design: Making Sure the Inscription Is Easy to Read

Most families don’t walk into a cemetery thinking about typography. They walk in thinking about a person. And then, somewhere between the quiet rows and the practical conversations with a...

Choosing a Headstone Color and Finish: How It Looks Now—and Years from Now

Choosing a Headstone Color and Finish: How It Looks Now—and Years from Now

You can do a lot of funeral planning with checklists and phone calls, but choosing a headstone tends to feel different. It’s visual. It’s permanent. And it often happens at...

Cemetery Rules and Regulations 101: What Families Need to Know Before Buying a Plot or Headstone

Cemetery Rules and Regulations 101: What Families Need to Know Before Buying a Plot or Headstone

Most families don’t walk into a cemetery office expecting a lesson in contracts, property rights, landscaping policies, and concrete foundations. They walk in because someone they love has died, or...

Coping With Pet Loss: A Compassionate Guide for the First Days and Weeks

Coping With Pet Loss: A Compassionate Guide for the First Days and Weeks

The first days after a pet dies can feel unreal—like your body is moving through normal time while your heart is still stuck in the moment everything changed. You might...

What Is an Ash Necklace Called? Cremation Necklace vs Urn Pendant (Names, Styles, and How to Choose)

What Is an Ash Necklace Called? Cremation Necklace vs Urn Pendant (Names, Styles, and How to Choose)

If you’ve searched for an “ash necklace,” you’ve probably seen a dozen names for what looks like the same thing: cremation necklace, urn necklace, memorial pendant, ashes locket, keepsake jewelry....

What’s an Ash Necklace Called? Cremation Jewelry Terms, Styles, and Buying Tips

What’s an Ash Necklace Called? Cremation Jewelry Terms, Styles, and Buying Tips

If you’re searching what is an ash necklace called, you’re probably not looking for trivia. You’re looking for steadiness—something you can hold onto after the calls are done, the paperwork is...

Do Urns Decompose? Biodegradable Urns, Burial Timelines, and What to Expect Underground

Do Urns Decompose? Biodegradable Urns, Burial Timelines, and What to Expect Underground

After a cremation, a family often finds itself holding something that feels both solid and strange: a container that represents a life, a relationship, a whole history. Some people want...

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...