Monument Buying Guide & FAQs
1. Purchase Plot(s) From Your Cemetery
Each cemetery has different guidelines for monuments, so you’ll need to choose a cemetery before purchasing your marker. Cremation plots can have different requirements than traditional plots, so these decisions need to be made before choosing a monument.
2. Choose Your Monument
Once you know the guidelines of your cemetery, you’ll be ready to choose your monument by size, shape, and color. Whether you are doing a single marker or a double, we have options in upright, slant, flat, bevel, bench, and custom monuments. See our gallery for ideas and options.
3. Consider Inventory vs. Special Order
We have a nice selection of monuments in both of our headstone showrooms. If you don’t see something that works for you, we can order from one of our suppliers, but take into consideration the added cost and time of shipping. Most suppliers estimate 3-4 months lead time. We do not engrave customer-supplied stones.
4. Know What's Included
Our in-house pricing includes: headstone, 2 design revisions, engraving on the stone, concrete base, delivery & installation in a local cemetery (tax and upgrades not included). If you would like to do a custom order, we can get you a quote as well.
5. Pick Any Upgrades
Ad-ons include custom design work, extra colors, extra design elements, portraits, vases, etc.
Granite bases are included with upright headstones, but they can be purchased as an option with slanted headstones.
6. Decide On Design
What should you put on your headstone? We recommend a ‘less is more’ design, but you can arrange names, dates, and graphics or portraits however you like. Included in the price is one element on the back of the stone, usually a list of children’s names or a quote.
7. Concrete Base Included
Most cemeteries require a concrete base to allow the cemetery’s maintenance crew to mow around the headstones. We will check with your cemetery for their specific guidelines. The concrete base is included in the price tag on the stone.
8. Engraving & Installation
Once you approve the final design, your monument will go into production. We’ll do the engraving, painting, concrete, and scheduling with the cemetery. We’ll let you know when it’s ready to place on your plot.
