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.

Planning a Pet Funeral on a Budget: Simple, Meaningful Ideas that Don’t Cost Much

Planning a Pet Funeral on a Budget: Simple, Meaningful Ideas that Don’t Cost Much

When a pet dies, grief has a strange way of colliding with paperwork, prices, and decisions you never wanted to make. You might find yourself trying to plan a goodbye...

Funeral Flower Arrangements Explained: Types, Average Costs, and Meaning

Funeral Flower Arrangements Explained: Types, Average Costs, and Meaning

Funeral flowers can feel surprisingly complicated—especially when you’re trying to comfort someone while your own emotions are running high. You may be looking at funeral flower arrangements like wreaths, standing...

Funeral Flower Etiquette: What to Send, When to Send It, and What It Means

Funeral Flower Etiquette: What to Send, When to Send It, and What It Means

When someone dies, flowers can feel like the “safe” thing to do—until you realize how many choices sit behind that simple gesture. Do you send something to the service or...

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...

What to Say When Someone Dies: Condolence Messages That Actually Help

What to Say When Someone Dies: Condolence Messages That Actually Help

There’s a particular kind of helplessness that shows up when you hear the news: someone has died, and now you’re holding your phone, staring at a blank message field, thinking,...

The Rainbow Bridge Poem: History, Meaning, and Alternatives

The Rainbow Bridge Poem: History, Meaning, and Alternatives

If you’ve ever lost a pet, there’s a good chance someone sent you “Rainbow Bridge” within days—sometimes within hours. It often arrives with good intentions: a friend trying to offer...

Writing an Obituary for Your Cat: Examples and Templates

Writing an Obituary for Your Cat: Examples and Templates

There are some losses that change a home without making a sound. The water bowl stays full. The sunny spot on the floor stays warm. The familiar weight that used...

DIY Shadow Boxes: How to Preserve Collars, Tags, and Toys

DIY Shadow Boxes: How to Preserve Collars, Tags, and Toys

There are some items you don’t throw away—not because you’re stuck, but because your hands remember what it felt like to hold them in ordinary life. A collar that still...

Why Your Surviving Pet’s Personality Might Change Permanently

Why Your Surviving Pet’s Personality Might Change Permanently

After a pet dies, the house doesn’t just feel quieter to you—it can feel quieter to the animal who remains. Many families notice a shift that’s hard to describe but...

50 Meaningful Ways to Memorialize Your Pet (That Aren’t Tattoos)

50 Meaningful Ways to Memorialize Your Pet (That Aren’t Tattoos)

Some losses rearrange the furniture of your life. A leash that still hangs by the door. A food bowl you can’t bring yourself to move. The quiet at the hour...

The Last Day: 10 Ways to Make Their Final 24 Hours Perfect

The Last Day: 10 Ways to Make Their Final 24 Hours Perfect

There’s a particular kind of love that shows up in a pet’s final day. It’s tender, fierce, ordinary, and surreal all at once. You might be counting medication times, watching...

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...

Why Losing a Dog Can Feel Worse Than Losing a Relative: The Psychology Behind the Pain

Why Losing a Dog Can Feel Worse Than Losing a Relative: The Psychology Behind the Pain

If you’ve lost a dog and found yourself thinking, “Why does this hurt so much—sometimes even more than losing certain relatives?” you’re not broken, dramatic, or disloyal to your family....

Pet Loss Myths That Hurt the Healing Process

Pet Loss Myths That Hurt the Healing Process

When a pet dies, the grief can feel both obvious and strangely invisible at the same time. Obvious, because your day-to-day life changes immediately: the quiet by the door, the...

Pets in Human Cemeteries: Special Sections, Companion Graves, and What’s Allowed

Pets in Human Cemeteries: Special Sections, Companion Graves, and What’s Allowed

If you have ever stood at a grave and wished you could also visit a pet you loved just as deeply, you already understand why this question is becoming more...

What to Do With Pet Ashes: Options, Rituals, and Meaning

What to Do With Pet Ashes: Options, Rituals, and Meaning

When a beloved pet dies, the quiet that follows can feel unreal. And then, often sooner than you’d like, something tangible arrives: a container, a box, a bag inside a...