Choosing a Memorial

Ways to Commemorate a Life

There are many different ways to commemorate the life of a loved one. Depending on your wishes, or those of your loved one, a memorial can be anything from a traditional, inscribed, upright stone to a garden bench or a tree planted in their name.

Fixed Memorials

A memorial can be something fixed, such as a headstone, a lawn memorial (an upright stone that has a personal inscription), wall plaque in a crematoria or traditional stone barrow, memorial kerb stone bordering a path in a garden of remembrance, or a garden bench located in a special place. Sometimes, although more unusually, buildings are funded or built in a person’s memory (a library or school building).

For lots of ideas, please go to Inspiration Stone Memorials and Outdoor Memorials or to find suppliers, visit our Provider Directory Stonemasons and Memorials.

Memorial Trees, Plants and Shrubs

A tree, plant or shrub planted in a loved one’s name, with or without a plaque, is a popular choice. Small trees and shrubs, depending on their size, can be planted in large pots so that they can be transported if a family moves home.

To find ideas and images, please go to Inspiration Memorial Trees, Plants and Shrubs or to find suppliers, visit our Provider Directory Flowers and Plants.

A Book of Remembrance or Service Book

In most crematoria, there is a Book of Remembrance and the pages are turned daily so that names for a particular day will be on display on every anniversary. In places of worship, a service book with a dedication inside the cover can provide a lovely memorial that is used by others.

Keepsakes and Memorial Jewellery

Commissioning an item of jewellery or artwork can be a lovely way to remembering a loved one and keep them close. You can find both traditional and more unusual ideas on our Inspiration Memorial Keepsakes page.

Digital Memorials & QR Codes

On-line memorials are increasingly popular and there are lots of companies and platforms that can help you to curate these. They enable friends and family to contribute and access photographs, tributes and videos and are a lovely way of gathering and sharing memories.

A QR code placed on stone memorials or other memorial items can link people direct to the digital memorial page.

Go to our Inspiration Digital Memories page to see ideas and inspiration. Or visit our Provider Digital Lockers, Digital Legacy & Digital Memories pages to find and link to suppliers.

How whiteballoon Can Help

Details of providers, plus items and images from our Inspiration pages can be saved to a personalised Ideas Folder in our Planning Tools section.

All our Planning Tools are free to use. Just Register to securely save information to your folder. This can be printed out and, if you wish, shared with family, friends, your celebrant or funeral director.