Headstones not only function as your lasting tribute, but also provide surviving family members a peaceful place to honor your memory.
While many families are left with the hard task of designing a memorial for their lost loved one, the burden doesn’t always have to fall on them. With preplanning, you have the opportunity to design your own memorial.
Preplanning a headstone means making final arrangements for the grave marker prior to your own passing. This includes making decisions regarding the:
- Location of the cemetery.
- Memorial’s size and shape.
- Quality and type of granite or bronze used.
- Words and images etched into stone.
When you plan your headstone sooner rather than later, it can be readily available when the time comes to place it. Continue reading for more benefits on memorial preplanning.
1. Personalize Your Headstone to Your Liking
In some ways, the most personal aspect of designing a memorial is deciding on the unique words, symbols and other details that will occupy space around your name and date.
When you preplan your headstone, you have the opportunity to personalize these features exactly the way you want. Some design options include:
- Unique inscriptions.
- Engraved or etched symbols.
- One or multiple photos.
Keep in mind, the more intricate the personalization elements (e.g. multiple photos, hand-tooled letters, sculpted design, etc.), the more your headstone will cost. Download our memorial cost guide for more pricing information.
2. Produce Your Headstone Ahead of Time
The timeframe for creating a headstone can vary dramatically depending on the memorial’s design, granite availability, shape and size, how quickly payments are made and when final designs are approved. With these factors in mind, it can be difficult to provide families with an exact date their headstone will be ready.
Supply chain disruptions haven’t made the headstone creation process much easier. By the time memorial providers get unique granite colors in stock, it can take between six and eight months for custom headstones to be produced (14 weeks or less for basic headstones, or when items are already in stock).
When you plan your headstone sooner rather than later, you have the opportunity to create a design that you wish to have on your future memorial. It can be created now or at the time of need, making it less of a burden on your surviving family members.
If you are waiting for the headstone to be made at the time of need, you’ll want to appoint a surviving family member to confirm your date of passing. With the design already planned with your chosen memorial provider, your custom-made headstone can be placed to your liking, depending on the weather.
3. Save Your Family Time and Money
Preplanning your headstone enables you to document your final wishes, saving your loved ones the stress of making these decisions once you’ve passed. Designing and purchasing your headstone today also saves you money. With inflation, materials and services will likely be less expensive now compared to ten or 20 years from now..
To put it into perspective, the average cost of a headstone in 2022 is between $600 and $2000—and this can be more or less depending on the level of personalization elements. Based on general inflation predictions, your $2,000 headstone today could cost as much as $3,200 in 20 years.
Not only is the cost far less now than it will be in the future, but you will also be saving your family the burden of designing a memorial unique to your life in the midst of grieving your loss.
4. Find the Right Headstone Provider For You
When you’re ready to plan or research options for your memorial, it can quickly become overwhelming. While buying a memorial from your chosen cemetery seems like the easiest route, it is often in your best interest to work directly with a headstone provider. The right headstone provider will:
- Advocate for you.
- Know the cemetery rules and regulations.
- Know the additional fees involved with headstone placement.
- Walk you through the entire headstone design process.
- Work with you to create a headstone unique to your life.
It may feel easy to work with your cemetery or even an online memorial provider, but when it comes to creating your lasting legacy, you should be able to trust your memorial provider.
Resources to Help You Plan Your Future Memorial
Planning a memorial takes time and thoughtful consideration. For headstone design tips, memorial quote examples and more, subscribe to our blog. You’ll receive insightful resources straight to your inbox each week.
