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.

Funeral Planning From Afar: A Checklist for Next of Kin Who Live Out of Town

Funeral Planning From Afar: A Checklist for Next of Kin Who Live Out of Town

If you’re next of kin and you live far away, the hardest part often isn’t the distance itself. It’s the feeling that everything is happening without you while you’re trying...

Biodegradable Urns Explained: Water Burial, Tree Urns & How Long They Last - Funeral.com, Inc.

Biodegradable Urns Explained: Water Burial, Tree Urns & How Long They Last

Most families don’t begin this search because they want to “shop.” They begin because cremation has happened (or is about to), and now there’s a container in the room—sometimes a...

Biodegradable Urns for Ashes: Water Burial, Tree Urns, and How Long They Last - Funeral.com, Inc.

Biodegradable Urns for Ashes: Water Burial, Tree Urns, and How Long They Last

There is a particular kind of quiet that arrives after cremation. The flurry of decisions slows down, the calls and texts become less urgent, and then there you are—holding a...

How to Conduct a Salt Urn Ceremony at the Beach - Funeral.com, Inc.

How to Conduct a Salt Urn Ceremony at the Beach

The ocean can feel like the one place big enough to hold everything you’re carrying—love, grief, memory, and the quiet relief of finally doing something tangible. A beach ceremony with...

Biodegradable Water Burial Urns: How Long They Float & What Affects It - Funeral.com, Inc.

Biodegradable Water Burial Urns: How Long They Float & What Affects It

The question families ask most often sounds simple: “How long will it float?” But what they usually mean is something deeper: “Will we have enough time?” Enough time to say...

Blue Color Psychology: What Blue Symbolizes in Design, Mood, and Culture - Funeral.com, Inc.

Blue Color Psychology: What Blue Symbolizes in Design, Mood, and Culture

When families tell us they’re drawn to blue, they rarely say it in abstract terms. They’ll say it feels like breathing. Or like a steady hand on the shoulder. Or...

Choosing Cremation Urns, Pet Urns, and Cremation Jewelry: A Practical, Comforting Guide for Families - Funeral.com, Inc.

Choosing Cremation Urns, Pet Urns, and Cremation Jewelry: A Practical, Comforting Guide for Families

Most families don’t step into loss expecting to make decisions about containers, capacity, and long-term plans. You expect to grieve. You expect to miss someone. And then, very quickly, you’re...

Kind Messages for Someone Grieving: What to Say (and Gift Ideas That Help) - Funeral.com, Inc.

Kind Messages for Someone Grieving: What to Say (and Gift Ideas That Help)

When someone you care about is grieving, the pressure to say “the right thing” can make you say nothing at all. Most people don’t need perfect phrasing. They need proof...

Gray Color Meaning: Psychology, Symbolism, and How Gray Feels in Design - Funeral.com, Inc.

Gray Color Meaning: Psychology, Symbolism, and How Gray Feels in Design

Gray is one of those colors that rarely demands attention, and that can be exactly why it shows up so often in moments of grief and remembrance. When life feels...

Tulip Symbolism for Sympathy: What Tulips Represent in Grief and Remembrance - Funeral.com, Inc.

Tulip Symbolism for Sympathy: What Tulips Represent in Grief and Remembrance

When someone dies, the first days can feel like a blur of logistics and emotion. You want to show up for a friend, a coworker, a neighbor, or a family...

How Long Do Biodegradable Urns Last? Float Time, Dissolving, and Material Guide - Funeral.com, Inc.

How Long Do Biodegradable Urns Last? Float Time, Dissolving, and Material Guide

After cremation, families often expect the hardest decisions to be behind them. The paperwork is signed. The phone calls slow down. And then, quietly, a new question appears on the...

Himalayan Salt Urns: How They Dissolve, Float Time, and Sea Scattering Tips - Funeral.com, Inc.

Himalayan Salt Urns: How They Dissolve, Float Time, and Sea Scattering Tips

When a family chooses a water ceremony, it’s usually not because they want something complicated. It’s because water feels honest. The ocean, a lake, a wide river—these places carry memory...

Can You Scatter Ashes Anywhere? U.S. Scattering Laws, Permits, and Etiquette Explained - Funeral.com, Inc.

Can You Scatter Ashes Anywhere? U.S. Scattering Laws, Permits, and Etiquette Explained

When a family chooses cremation, the next question is often simple to say and surprisingly hard to answer: can you scatter ashes anywhere—and if not, what’s actually allowed? In the...

Where Can You Scatter Ashes in Arkansas (2026)? Laws for Parks, Beaches, Private Land & Water - Funeral.com, Inc.

Where Can You Scatter Ashes in Arkansas (2026)? Laws for Parks, Beaches, Private Land & Water

If you are searching where can you scatter ashes in Arkansas, you are usually trying to solve two problems at once: you want a place that feels meaningful, and you...

Salt Blocks for Sea Burial: How Sinking Bases Work and Safer, Cleaner Alternatives - Funeral.com, Inc.

Salt Blocks for Sea Burial: How Sinking Bases Work and Safer, Cleaner Alternatives

Some goodbyes happen quietly in a living room. Others happen with salt air on your face, a steady horizon, and the sound of water against a hull. If you are...

Deep-Space Burial 2.0: How “Beyond the Moon” Memorial Flights Work (Costs, Risks, and Options) - Funeral.com, Inc.

Deep-Space Burial 2.0: How “Beyond the Moon” Memorial Flights Work (Costs, Risks, and Options)

When a family chooses cremation, the next question often arrives quietly: what to do with ashes. Some people want a traditional memorial at home. Others want a place in nature....