A cremation urn is the container that holds cremated remains. Choosing one is practical and personal at the same time. The right urn fits the place it will rest, the person it holds, and whether the family wants one vessel or a smaller keepsake to share.
Start with where the urn will live. An urn buried in a grave needs to suit that cemetery's rules for urn burial. An urn placed in a columbarium niche has to fit the niche opening the cemetery measured, not a size you hope will work. An urn kept at home can be chosen for the room it will sit in. Measure the niche, or ask the cemetery for the opening size, before you choose. An urn that does not fit cannot be forced into a niche.
Full-size urns hold one person's cremated remains. Keepsakes are smaller vessels that hold a token portion when relatives want to share remains, or when part of the remains will be buried and part kept close. A keepsake is not a second full urn. If more than one household will hold remains, say so before you order so the sizes match that plan.
The Monument Store's urns are metal: brass, bronze, and steel. Metal is sturdy for a niche, a grave, or a shelf. Look at the closure, the material named on the product page, and whether the piece is a full urn or a keepsake. Read the dimensions on that page and compare them with the niche or the space at home. The photograph shows the urn. The dimensions tell you whether it fits.
Engraving, when the urn offers it, is usually a name and dates, sometimes a short line. Bring the spelling you want used, and the dates as the family has agreed to write them. If the urn will sit inside a niche with a separate shutter or tablet, decide whether the name belongs on the urn, on the shutter, or on both.
Some families also want a marker or a headstone at the cemetery even when the urn is in a niche or at home. That memorial is a separate choice from the urn. Cemetery rules still govern it. This page is about the urn itself.
Order the urn that matches the place and the person. The product page states the price for that urn. This guide does not.