Have you ever considered designing your own headstone? It might seem a little morbid, but there are many benefits to making the decision yourself before you pass on. With so many different materials, designs and engraving options to choose from, you’ll be able to customise a gravestone that you believe best captures the essence of your life - but how do you make the right choice?
To help you get started, in this blog we’ll cover the benefits of picking your own gravestone, as well as what to consider during the design process.
Why Choose Your Own Gravestone?
The biggest reason that more and more people are choosing to pick their own gravestone is for peace of mind. It can be a comfort to know you’ve made preparations for your family to ease the burden of making the decision themselves when the time comes.
Taking on this decision yourself also means you have complete control over the process. After all, gravestones are deeply personal - and not to mention are meant to last forever - so choosing how you’d like it to look and what you want engraved means you can tailor it to mirror the life you’ve led.
What to Consider When Choosing Your Own Gravestone
If you’ve decided to choose your own gravestone, you might be a little stumped on where to start. There are several different aspects of the gravestone that are completely customisable, so picking something that feels personal to you can be tough. Fortunately, there are a few questions that you can ask yourself that will help guide your choice.
What Do You Want People to Remember About Your Life?
As mentioned above, gravestones are designed to remain in places for many, many years after you’ve passed on. It’ll memorialise the person you were, the things you stood for, your beliefs and your personality.
While the symbolism of a gravestone is unique to each person, it’s typical for people to want it to represent their personal values and the things they care about. You’ll find plenty of evidence of this in graveyards, with gravestones inscribed with meaningful quotes, or sentimental symbols or motifs engraved into the design. For example, the gravestone pictured below can be customised with the image of a landscape of your choosing.
With this in mind, look inwards and think about what you’d like people to remember about your life, and allow what comes to mind to guide your decision.
What Would You Like Your Memorial to Say?
One of the easiest ways to personalise your gravestone is through the engraving of meaningful text or imagery. These could be a few lines that express how you lived your life, a favourite quote or verse, a symbolic image or just something personal that you know your loved ones will strongly connect with.
Whatever your gravestone says, you’ll want it to be something that helps remind people who you were as a person and evokes memories of happy times spent together for your loved ones whenever they visit your grave.
Is the Gravestone for an Individual or Family Plot?
Many graveyards allow several people to be buried within one burial plot, for example, there would be room for your partner or children to be buried alongside you when the time comes for them to pass on. If this is something you’d like to do, you’ll have to choose your gravestone accordingly so that your loved one’s names can be eventually added. Some gravestones can even be made up of two or more smaller stones, such as the example below, for multiple people to be memorialised.
People tend to opt for a family plot as the symbolism of being laid to rest together can provide comfort for loved ones, but you may well prefer the idea of having your own personal memorial. Whichever option you choose, it’s worth having a discussion with your family and coming to a decision that everyone is comfortable with.
Where Would You Like Your Gravestone to Be Located?
While a gravestone is one of the more straightforward memorial options to have placed, you’ll still need to consider where you’d like it to be located. If you have a certain graveyard in mind, you’ll have to contact them to find out if the gravestone you’d like to have placed can be accommodated.
This is yet another benefit of planning your gravestone in advance: you can guarantee that you’ll be laid to rest in a place of your choosing - perhaps somewhere that’s particularly meaningful to you. This takes away the need for certain posthumous discussions, decisions and costs that your loved ones would otherwise have to deal with during an already very difficult time.
What is Your Gravestone Budget?
Of course, your choice of gravestone and design will also likely be dictated by how much you have to spend on it. Funerals and memorials all come at massively varied costs that are based on a number of different factors. As such, once you’ve got an idea of what kind of gravestone you’d like, you can discuss it with your stonemasons of choice to finalise a design that works with your budget.
Your gravestone can either be purchased in advance, or you could even set the funds aside with clear instructions for your loved ones outlining exactly the type of gravestone you’d like. It’s worth nothing that if you decide on the latter option, over a period of time the cost of a gravestone could potentially rise, so when setting money aside you may want to leave more than the current required amount so you can ensure that the cost will be covered.
Who Will Be In Charge of Making Arrangements?
Naturally, even with your gravestone plans in place, you’ll still need someone to carry out your wishes after you die. To make sure this happens, you can include a letter of instruction in your will that names the person who will take responsibility for fulfilling your plans. Be sure to outline all important information about your gravestone so that nothing is overlooked when you’re no longer around to advise.
Custom Memorial Stones in Lincolnshire
At William Kent Memorials Ltd, we understand that finding a custom memorial stone that feels personal to you can be tough, which is why we’re here to support you from start to finish. We offer a wide range of bespoke headstones in some truly stunning designs and materials, all created by expert local stonemasons. We’ll work with you to establish which headstone feels right, ensuring that it has the right words to make a fitting tribute to your life.
Browse our selection of beautiful headstones online, or if you’d like more information about our bespoke service, please get in touch with us.
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