Choosing a memorial before it is needed
Most of our work is for families who need a memorial now. This page is for the smaller number who are deciding in advance. Planning ahead moves the decision to a week when you can think, instead of the worst week of your life.
Need a memorial now? Ask for a quote and we will start with your cemetery.
What deciding now actually spares them
Not money. We make no claim about what a memorial will cost later, because we do not know. What planning ahead removes is the weight of guessing.
- Nobody has to guess what you wanted. The names, the dates, the wording, the artwork, the stone. You decided it, so no one is left reading your preferences out of memory.
- The cemetery’s rules are already known. Whether an upright is permitted, what size, what foundation. Finding that out calmly is very different from finding it out in a phone call on day three.
- Nobody chooses under a deadline. A memorial is not urgent. Graveside services happen long before a stone is set. Families rush this decision because they feel they should, not because they must.
- Disagreements happen while everyone can still talk. Families argue about memorials. It is easier to settle a disagreement about wording before it is tangled up with grief.
What you can settle in advance
The cemetery and the plot. The shape and the size. The granite color. The inscription, including the wording for anyone still living. Any accents, whether that is a vase, a porcelain photo, an etching or a bronze emblem.
You can settle all of it, or only the parts you are sure about. A partial decision that is written down still spares your family the hardest part.
How to start
Ask for a quote and say it is for planning ahead. Nothing about the process changes except the pace, and there is no deposit to see a quote either way.
Request a quoteAsk for a quote. It costs nothing and starts nothing.
A quote is a conversation about what the cemetery allows and what the stone would cost. It is not an order, and there is no deposit to see one.
Call 303-889-9203 Request a quote
Or write to quotes@familyfirstmemorials.com. We reply to every message.