Once a memorial has been chosen there then has to be a choice of wording to be engraved onto the stone. The normal format is to start with an introduction such as “In Loving Memory of” followed by the deceased’s name, date of birth and date of death. In some instances the dates may be followed by a simple verse such as “So Dearly Loved, So Sadly Missed”.
Once the memorial wording has been chosen a decision then has to be made as to whether the lettering is to be hand cut or machine cut, painted or not and this is one of personal preference. Another thing to consider is the font in which the letters are to be cut, and again this boils down to personal preference.
Hand cut letters are exactly what it says in that a stonemason will cut each individual letter and hence the cost of hand cutting is considerably more than machine cut. Machine cut letters are arrived at by producing a computer generated stencil which is then placed on the stone and then blasted by minute particles of grit to form the inscription.
The final thing to consider is a carving of something that may have meant something to the deceased. An example of this is a farmer possibly wishing to have a tractor carved on the stone. Carvings are, in the main, done by hand which would mean that they would be done with hand cut letters. 
In reality nothing is impossible when coming to design a stone and our memorial advisors and stonemasons will be more than happy to assist. Our skilled and experienced masons are able to produce lettering in a wide range of styles to suit all tastes and budgets. Read more here about the types of lettering Burslem can produce.
Call our team now to start planning your bespoke memorial.
