Making plans for your end-of-life journey is a way to prepare your legacy and leave your family with a loving resolution. One of the most important decisions you will make is your choice of memorial headstone. This beautiful polished stone will help your family remember you at your best and leave a memory for future generations who visit your place of rest.
Which types of headstones will best reflect your life and honor your memory? At Create a Legacy, we are privileged to guide you through this meaningful and lasting decision-making process.
Factors to Consider When Selecting a Headstone
Your headstone will represent your memory for decades to come. Properly chosen, it may bear your name and symbols of your life for a century or more. But first, your selection must meet the needs of your end-of-life plan. It’s important to consider both the requirements of your chosen cemetery as well as the longevity of your chosen stone.
Cemetery Regulations and Guidelines
Each cemetery has a set of guidelines and rules regarding how you select a headstone. They often require or recommend a specific range of materials, sizes, and styles when it comes to the types of gravestones you can select for your chosen place of rest. Some cemeteries want to keep a uniform look. Others are less strict but want to help you choose a headstone that is built to last.
Ask your cemetery for the headstone guidelines to help direct your exploration of stone memorials.
Material Durability and Maintenance
An ideal headstone can remain beautiful and honor your memory for many years, measured in decades or even centuries. To achieve this goal, you will want to select a material that is resistant to weather and erosion. This is why polished and sealed granite is the most popular choice and is required by many cemeteries.
Similarly, durable accessory memorial pieces may be found in marble, bronze, and powder-coated steel.
Consult with your memorial provider not only on the durability of the material but any maintenance that may be required, such as cleaning or polishing to keep your memorial clear and readable into perpetuity.
Evaluating Different Types of Memorials
Which type of stone memorial best suits your chosen cemetery and celebrates your life? Understanding the types of headstones can help you make the best choice for your complete end-of-life plan.
Flat vs. Upright Headstones
Headstones fall into two greater categories: Flat vs upright headstones. These categories determine both the size and style.
Flat headstones are laid close to the ground. The two leading styles are “Lawn” and “Pillow.” Lawn style flat headstones lay flat against the ground providing a stone plaque engraved with your name and chosen design. Pillow-style headstones have a gentle upward slope so the engraved surface faces up toward visitors of the site.
Upright headstones fulfill our traditional vision of a gravestone, and there are many possible designs. Upright headstones typically have a flat base that serves as a basis for an upright stone that may be uniformly or uniquely shaped to hold your engraved memorial. It can be comprised of one or multiple types of stone. Some upright headstones are also fashioned in the style of a bench.
Alternative Memorial Options
If you are interested in an alternative memorial design, you might consider a cremation memorial, a metal, granite, or bronze vase that features a ceramic printed photo with color and detail beyond what a stone engraving can display.
Request a Consultation with Create a Legacy
If you are building your end-of-life plans, Create a Legacy would be honored to help you design the perfect memorial for the place you will be laid to rest. Our team will work closely with you to help you choose the perfect stone, engraving design, and special details that will make your headstone truly special.
Contact us today to request a consultation and design your unique and beautiful stone memorial.
Image Credit/Shutterstock:Marc Bruxelle