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.

Pet Cremation Costs: Private vs. Communal, What You Receive, and What Affects Price

Pet Cremation Costs: Private vs. Communal, What You Receive, and What Affects Price

When a pet dies, the cost question can feel almost insulting—like it shouldn’t matter, and yet it does. Families are often balancing grief, time off work, urgent decisions at a...

What Are Cremation Ashes Made Of? What “Cremains” Really Are and Why They Look the Way They Do

What Are Cremation Ashes Made Of? What “Cremains” Really Are and Why They Look the Way They Do

The first time many families see cremated remains, it’s not the moment of cremation at all. It’s a quieter moment afterward—someone sets a temporary container on a kitchen table, or...

Cemetery Urn Requirements: Vaults, Materials, Niche Sizes, and What to Ask Before You Buy

Cemetery Urn Requirements: Vaults, Materials, Niche Sizes, and What to Ask Before You Buy

Most families don’t start funeral planning by thinking about measurements. You start with a person you love, a loss you didn’t want, and a decision that may have felt like...

Rainbow Bridge Memorial Ideas That Don’t Feel Generic (Ceremony Scripts, Kids, Keepsakes)

Rainbow Bridge Memorial Ideas That Don’t Feel Generic (Ceremony Scripts, Kids, Keepsakes)

When someone says “Rainbow Bridge,” they usually mean well. They’re trying to offer comfort in the language that’s most available to them. But if you’re the one actually grieving, those...

What to Send Instead of Flowers: Sympathy Gifts That Feel Helpful (Not Random)

What to Send Instead of Flowers: Sympathy Gifts That Feel Helpful (Not Random)

When someone dies, flowers arrive quickly because they’re familiar and beautiful. But sometimes flowers don’t feel like the right language for what you want to say. Maybe the family is...

What Size Urn for an Adult? Capacity Basics, Common Ranges, and When to Go Oversized

What Size Urn for an Adult? Capacity Basics, Common Ranges, and When to Go Oversized

Choosing an urn is one of those tasks that sounds simple until you’re staring at product pages and realizing that “full size” can mean wildly different things. A tall, slender...

Is It Okay to Split Ashes After Cremation? Etiquette, Religion, and Practical Tips

Is It Okay to Split Ashes After Cremation? Etiquette, Religion, and Practical Tips

For many families, the question arrives quietly. The cremation is complete, the temporary container comes home, and suddenly you’re holding something that feels both ordinary and sacred at the same...

Alternative Urn Ideas: 50+ Unique Containers and Memorial Options for Ashes

Alternative Urn Ideas: 50+ Unique Containers and Memorial Options for Ashes

After cremation, many families discover that the hardest decision isn’t choosing “an urn.” It’s choosing a kind of remembrance that fits a real life: a home with kids and pets,...

Photo Pet Urns: How to Choose the Right Frame, Print Size, and Engraving Wording

Photo Pet Urns: How to Choose the Right Frame, Print Size, and Engraving Wording

A photo pet urn is one of the gentlest ways to keep pet urns for ashes present in your home, because the image leads. When you walk by, you see...

What Is a Burial Shroud? Natural Burial Shrouds, Carriers, and How to Choose

What Is a Burial Shroud? Natural Burial Shrouds, Carriers, and How to Choose

When a family hears the phrase burial shroud, the first reaction is often a mix of curiosity and uncertainty. Is it simply a sheet? Is it only for certain religions? Does...

Pet Keepsake Urns for Sharing Ashes: Ideas for Siblings, Households, and Travel Keepsakes

Pet Keepsake Urns for Sharing Ashes: Ideas for Siblings, Households, and Travel Keepsakes

Pet loss creates a strange kind of logistical silence. The routines that used to shape your day are suddenly gone, but the practical questions keep arriving anyway. You may be...

Can You Open the Temporary Container? What Families Should Know Before They Try

Can You Open the Temporary Container? What Families Should Know Before They Try

When you bring cremated remains home, the container can feel more intimidating than you expected. It might look like a practical cardboard box or a simple plastic case, and yet...

Cremation Ashes Explained: What They Are (and Aren’t), Why They Look Like Sand, and Common Myths

Cremation Ashes Explained: What They Are (and Aren’t), Why They Look Like Sand, and Common Myths

Most families don’t expect the first moment with cremated remains to feel so… surprising. The container is heavier than you imagined. The sound is different when you set it down....

How Much Ash Is Left After Cremation? Average Cremains Volume and How to Pick the Right Urn

How Much Ash Is Left After Cremation? Average Cremains Volume and How to Pick the Right Urn

When the crematory hands you the temporary container, it can feel like the moment you’re supposed to “know what to do next.” But the truth is, most families pause right...

Keepsakes & Cremation Jewelry: How Much Ashes You Need and How to Share Safely

Keepsakes & Cremation Jewelry: How Much Ashes You Need and How to Share Safely

The first time a family considers dividing cremated remains, the questions usually arrive in a rush. Someone suggests a necklace so a spouse can keep a loved one close. A...

Cremation Urn Size Calculator: Estimate Capacity from Body Weight and Avoid Common Sizing Mistakes

Cremation Urn Size Calculator: Estimate Capacity from Body Weight and Avoid Common Sizing Mistakes

Choosing an urn can feel like a simple purchase until you realize what you’re really trying to do: protect something irreplaceable, honor a life, and make a decision that won’t...