Cremation rates are at an all-time high.

There are many reasons for this — cremation puts less financial strain and stress on the family, they want their ashes spread rather than buried, and cremation is even better for the environment.

Cremated ashes are stored in an urn. Because of the cremation increases, there are more urn options than ever before. It’s essential you choose the right one — especially if you plan on displaying the urn in your home or burying it.

Here’s how to choose the best display and burial urns.

Display Urns

Display urns are one you present, usually in your home. Like a casket, they serve as a resting place for the deceased. But instead of being buried underground, you can ensure your loved one is with you in your home.

Many people store urns with personal mementos, such as pictures or other items of interest. Many people personalize their urns or buy keepsake urns that align with the deceased’s interests and style.

Since display urns are created for the presentation, they’re made of a variety of materials. These vary from silver all the way to wood.

Burial Urns

Do you want to bury a loved one but don’t want to know their body is decomposing or want the chemicals ruining the environment? Many families opt for burial urns. You store the cremated ashes in the urn and bury the whole urn.

Burial urns are made of a variety of materials, such as plastic and paper. Burial urns are also made is biodegradable materials, benefitting the environment. An example is bamboo, wood, and recycled materials.

Where do you bury an urn? Most people choose their front or backyard. You can also bury an urn in an urn garden or cemetery, park, or a meaningful location.

How to Choose an Urn

When you decide which type of urn you want, it’s time to choose the best. Here are a few guidelines to keep in mind.

Select the Right Size

You need to ensure the urn has the necessary dimensions and capacity to hold ashes.

Dimensions include the height, width, and diameter. Some urn makers create urns in compact sizes while others offer larger sizes. It’s important you know the size of your urn before purchasing one.

Why is size important? If you’re displaying an urn, you have to ensure it will fit in your home.

Other factors come into play, such as how many urns each family member will have (if you’re distributing the ashes). If you’re displaying your urn elsewhere, other places have guidelines on urn sizes.

Capacity is also important. An adult man produces more ashes than a little girl.

How do you decide on capacity? Take the deceased’s size into consideration. For example, the traditional adult size urn can hold the ashes of an individual who was at least 200 pounds at the time of death.

What if the deceased was tall? It’s still best to order a larger capacity urn.

You also want to consider if you’re distributing the ashes. If this is the case, your urn won’t require as much capacity.

Choosing the Urn Material

As mentioned previously, urns are made of a variety of materials. Popular options include wood, brass, and marble. There are more unique and artistic material options. These include ceramic, aluminum, and glass.

There are material factors to consider, such as whether or not you’re engraving anything into the urn.

Traveling is also a major factor that impacts the urn’s material. You have to check in the urn and only certain materials can pass through airport security. These include paper, wood, and cultured marble.

Consider the Final Resting Place

One of the benefits of cremating a loved one is you/they have many resting place options to choose. But this factor should be one of the deciding factors to finding the perfect urn.

For example, if you’re burying the urn, you might want to choose an urn made of a biodegradable material for the environmental benefits. Some urns can also be used to plant trees and other plants.

If you’re scattering the ashes, there’s no reason to invest in an expensive urn. Choose an affordable urn that can hold the ashes until the deceased reaches their final resting place.

The urn’s decorative and personalization aspects are most important if you’re displaying the urn, whether at home or elsewhere. This is also when the urn’s size comes into play.

Speaking of personalization…

Adding Personal Touches

While there are generic urns available, most loved ones would rather invest in an urn that fits their loved one’s unique personality, interests, style, and passions.

Not sure what personal touches to add? Start with their name. There are urns available in different colors and you can choose one you know the deceased would love.

You can also add artwork, whether these are simple designs or an engraving that represents something they love.

Symbols are a great example; choose a symbol of their occupation or another passion. More urn makers are incorporating images such as a photo or drawing printed directly on the urn.

Urn makers are also starting to create urn themes. Popular examples include servicemen and women, motorcycle, travel, and music.

There are other ways to personalize the urn’s display. You can add mementos such as jewelry, the deceased’s belongings, and photos.

Your Budget

Finally, your budget should be the last consideration after you decide on these factors. Fortunately, urns vary in price ranges.

Basic and non-personalized urns, such as ones used to transport ashes, are as low as $10. Other intricate and personalized urns can go for hundreds of dollars.

Choose the Best Urn

Whether you’re looking for display or burial urns, it’s important that you choose the one that’s best for the deceased. The factors to consider include the material, the size, the final resting place, and all of the personal details.

For more useful life tips, continue reading our blog!