I need to purchase a memorial, what type of letters do I choose?
This is always a difficult decision, which style of lettering to choose for your memorial. Your stonemason will usually have some examples and can give you advice on which font would be best for your chosen memorial, some font types are better suited to certain types of material, It is important to use an appropriate font for the type of memorial and material you are using, the quantity of letters, space available on the stone, letter height and type of stone, granite, marble, limestone etc. are all factors in choosing the correct font or fonts for your inscription.
With so many available the choice can be daunting, most stonemasons tend to use specific fonts that they know are well suited for the memorial you have chosen like Times Roman or Zaph Chancery, both of which are easy to read and not too fancy, you should steer away from picking and using a font that you may particularly like unless the mason agrees that it is suitable.
Churchyard vs Cemetery
In our experience the church tend to mainly like the use of a Roman or Block style font, something that is clear and easy to read is much likelier to be allowed to be introduced into the Churchyard than a difficult to read Script style. Cemeteries however allow pretty much any type of font and when the memorial permissions are sought it’s more important to choose the correct lettering style for your memorial as the cemetery will unlikely be bothered by the style you are going to use.
Our advice.
1 Ask your stonemason for a fontlist if they have one.
2 Speak to them especially if you have your own suggestions
3 Always get an example/ template of your memorial with your chosen inscription laid out for you.
4 You only do this once so it has to be right
