After your loved one has passed on, a headstone is the only physical evidence that will remain for generations to come. You want it to be as unique as the person it represents. You want it to stand out and to reflect your loved one's personality.
A personalized headstone will also help family members to easily locate their resting place.
Regulations
The first step towards choosing a headstone is to learn about the regulations of your chosen burial sites.
Most sites will specify the size, shape, and even the material that is accepted for a headstone. Cemeteries are generally more flexible than churchyards. You can then choose between a flat, upright, or kerbed headstone. For mausoleums, you have many custom designs, textures, and materials to choose from.
Material
Headstones and mausoleums come in a variety of materials, such as marble, granite, slate, limestone, sandstone, and bronze.
Marble and granite are the most popular because of their high quality. Granite comes in different colors such as grey, pink, green, blue, and black. You could personalize your granite headstone by choosing your loved one's favorite color.
Upright memorials are often made of granite or marble, while limestone and bronze are popular for flat ones.
Inscriptions/Epitaph
The inscriptions on the headstone are an opportunity to personalize your loved one's headstone. What did they believe in? What was their personality like? These will give you an idea of what to inscribe on the headstone.
This is also an opportunity to express your feelings for your loved one. Think of a few unique but powerful words. You could also consider a short poem or a religious quote.
Of course, you will also want to include their name and their date of birth and death. Remember you don't have much space on the headstone, so keep everything short. For a mausoleum, you have a lot more space to work with for depictions, words, and other decorations.
Symbols
Again, depending on your loved one's personality, beliefs, and profession, you can customize the headstone with a symbol. There are a wide variety of symbols to choose from.
You have, for example, a "Lamb of God" symbol for a Christian, an "American Legion" symbol for a member of the American legion, or the symbol of an anchor for a sailor.
You could also have a photo of the deceased or of their favorite car etched into the headstone.
Though you've lost your loved one, you want to preserve their memory as much as possible; not so much for yourself but for the generations to come. One way of doing this is choosing their headstone. Check out websites like http://www.hartmanmem.com/ to learn more.
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