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 Attire for Children: Comfortable, Respectful Outfits for Different Types of Services

Funeral Attire for Children: Comfortable, Respectful Outfits for Different Types of Services

If you’re trying to figure out funeral attire for children, you’re probably balancing two very real needs at the same time: you want your child to be comfortable enough to...

Modern Funeral Dress Code: Is It OK to Wear Color (and How to Do It Respectfully)

Modern Funeral Dress Code: Is It OK to Wear Color (and How to Do It Respectfully)

If you’re standing in front of your closet before a service, you’re probably not thinking about fashion. You’re thinking about respect. You’re thinking about not making a hard day harder....

Cultural and Religious Funeral Attire: Head Coverings, Modesty, and What Guests Should Know

Cultural and Religious Funeral Attire: Head Coverings, Modesty, and What Guests Should Know

There’s a specific kind of anxiety that shows up when you’re grieving or trying to support someone who is: you want to do the right thing, and you don’t want...

Dressing for a Funeral in Extreme Weather: Summer Heat, Winter Cold, and Rain

Dressing for a Funeral in Extreme Weather: Summer Heat, Winter Cold, and Rain

Grief has a way of making ordinary decisions feel surprisingly heavy. Even something as simple as getting dressed can turn into a quiet source of stress—especially when the forecast is...

What Not to Wear to a Funeral: 12 Outfit Mistakes (and Better Alternatives)

What Not to Wear to a Funeral: 12 Outfit Mistakes (and Better Alternatives)

If you’re reading this because a funeral, wake, or memorial is coming up, you’re not alone in the question behind your search: what not to wear to a funeral. It...

Funeral Etiquette 101: What to Do, What to Say, and Common Mistakes to Avoid

Funeral Etiquette 101: What to Do, What to Say, and Common Mistakes to Avoid

If you’re reading this because you’re worried about getting it wrong, you’re already doing the most important thing: you’re trying to show up with care. Most people don’t avoid funerals...

When Family Can’t Agree on Funeral Plans: Practical Mediation Steps and Decision Rules

When Family Can’t Agree on Funeral Plans: Practical Mediation Steps and Decision Rules

If you’re in the middle of a funeral planning disagreement, it can feel like you’re trying to build a clear plan on shifting sand. People are grieving, everyone is tired,...

How to Pre-Plan a Green Funeral: Natural Burial Options, Materials, and Questions to Ask

How to Pre-Plan a Green Funeral: Natural Burial Options, Materials, and Questions to Ask

Most people don’t pre-plan a funeral because they want to think about death. They do it because they love their family, and they don’t want their family forced into rushed...

Reviewing the Funeral Bill: How to Spot Errors, Add-Ons, and Unfair Charges

Reviewing the Funeral Bill: How to Spot Errors, Add-Ons, and Unfair Charges

If you’re holding a funeral invoice in your hands and feeling a wave of stress—on top of everything else—you’re not alone. A bill often arrives after the most difficult days,...

The FTC Funeral Rule Made Simple: Price Lists, Your Rights, and How to Compare Providers

The FTC Funeral Rule Made Simple: Price Lists, Your Rights, and How to Compare Providers

When a death happens, decisions arrive fast — often faster than your emotions can keep up. You may be arranging care for someone you love while trying to understand paperwork,...

Do You Need a Funeral Planner or Concierge Service? When Extra Help Is Worth It

Do You Need a Funeral Planner or Concierge Service? When Extra Help Is Worth It

In the days after a death, there’s a strange collision between grief and logistics. You’re trying to absorb what happened, and at the same time you’re expected to make decisions...

Organ Donation and Funeral Timing: How Donation Can Affect Viewing, Cremation, and Scheduling

Organ Donation and Funeral Timing: How Donation Can Affect Viewing, Cremation, and Scheduling

In the hours after a death, families are asked to absorb grief and make decisions at the same time. When organ or tissue donation is part of the story, it...

Last Letters and Video Messages: How to Leave Meaningful Goodbyes for Loved Ones

Last Letters and Video Messages: How to Leave Meaningful Goodbyes for Loved Ones

Most families don’t set out to create “legacy content.” They set out to love each other, to build a life, and to get through whatever the world puts in front...

Blended Families and Funerals: Navigating Exes, Step-Relatives, and Decision-Making

Blended Families and Funerals: Navigating Exes, Step-Relatives, and Decision-Making

When a family is blended, grief can feel like it has more than one address. There may be an ex-spouse who still matters, stepchildren who loved the person deeply, adult...

West African Funerals: Ghanaian and Nigerian Traditions of Music, Dance, and Ancestor Honor

West African Funerals: Ghanaian and Nigerian Traditions of Music, Dance, and Ancestor Honor

In many Ghanaian and Nigerian communities, a funeral is not simply an ending. It is a gathering that carries someone from the visible world into the care of family, faith,...

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...