A Large Urn for ashes – A Meaningful Memory

When a loved one passes away, time seems to stand still. Everything feels different – quieter, heavier. In the midst of grief, many people feel the need to hold onto something. Something that carries not only the ashes but also the emotion. The bond. The memory. An large urn for ashes for adults is more than just an object – it is a tangible reminder of love and connection. A place for remembrance, mourning, comfort, and closeness.

At Memories to Keep®, we create special urns for ashes that preserve, but also bring meaning. Not stately, impersonal objects, but lovingly crafted memorial pieces that feel like an extension of the love that once was – and still is. Urns that not only fit into your home, but into your life. Soft in appearance, warm in material, with attention to detail and room for ritual. A place where ashes and memories can rest, and where connection is gently renewed each day.

Does Memories to Keep® sell Large Urns for ashes?

Yes. At Memories to Keep®, we craft a variety of unique large urns designed to give ashes a dignified resting place. Made from natural materials that not only preserve but connect. These are not cold, distant objects or traditional urns – but personal memorial pieces, made with craftsmanship and care. Urns that belong in your life, meaningfully present as a tangible memory of your loved one.

Our urn collection ranges from mini and small urns for ashes to large urns for ashes for adults. Each design is original and carefully developed by designer and maker Harm Rietveld – allowing you to choose what fits your loved one, and yourself. Our large urns for ashesh include:

Unique Large Urns for ashes

Our unique urns for ashes are not mass-produced, but individually designed by Harm Rietveld and handmade with love for the craft, attention to detail, respect for the material, and a deep understanding of what truly matters: memory, love, and connection. These are not cold objects or traditional urns, but personal pieces you can hold, cherish, and place gently within your life.

Each urn is original in design and radiates warmth. Natural materials such as wood and leather are finished with a silky texture, making them pleasant to hold. Warm, natural, and calming. With their soft, organic appearance, they blend seamlessly into your home and life, staying close to where memories live. That makes these handmade urns perfectly suited to be kept at home.

At Memories to Keep®, we offer special urns for ashes in various sizes, made from carefully selected wood types and natural materials like leather and wool felt. They are intended for anyone looking for a tangible form for the ashes and love of a lost loved one.

We believe that grief needs space. And that remembrance deserves its own form. In light. In silence. In an urn that speaks to the heart. We hope our beautiful urns can support you in making the right choice.

Mini Urn - Small Urn for ashes

Some people want to keep all the ashes together. They choose a large urn sized to hold all the cremated remains. But nowadays, many families offer loved ones the option to select a mini or small urn to keep a small symbolic amount of the ashes. This allows each person to keep their own, personal memory of the deceased. Love is no longer in just one place – it lives on, gently, in many hands.

At Memories to Keep®, we offer unique mini urns for ashes in various sizes and designs that can be combined with a large urn for ashes. This gives everyone the chance to choose an urn that feels right and matches their preferences.

Examples include a mini urn with a tealight holder, one you can hold and cherish in your hand, or a beautifully shaped urn in the form of a tiny vase with delicate pink dried flowers.
Read more here about the different types of small urns for ashes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an Large Urn for ashes?

An urn is a memorial object that holds the ashes of a person after cremation. When we refer to a large urn, we mean a size that accommodates the full amount of ashes from an adult, which typically ranges between 3 and 3.5 liters, depending on body size and crematorium practices.

Mini or small urns for ashes have much smaller capacities and are intended for a symbolic portion of the ashes. They can complement a large urn.

Houten urn volwassenen - Bij een urn kopen of een urn kiezen, kun je kiezen uit verschillende soorten urnen, van een mini urn tot een traditionele urn, verkrijgbaar in verschillende materialen.

When Do People Choose an Urn?

When collecting the ashes from the crematorium, you may be asked whether you’ve chosen an urn or would like to view their selection. Crematoriums in the Netherlands often offer a wide range of urns.

You’re free to explore their options, but you are not obligated to buy from them. Many people find it difficult to make such decisions in the early days of mourning. You may not be ready yet, and that’s perfectly okay.

In the Netherlands you can take the ashes home in the crematorium's container until you're ready to begin looking for a meaningful urn fort the ashes. Grieving is personal, and everyone goes at their own pace. Some feel ready immediately. Others may take time before the urge for a physical memorial arises.

People often choose an urn when they:

Want to keep the ashes at home in a loving, familiar place
Need a temporary solution before scattering or burial
Wish to wait before making a decision and first find peace
Are looking for a personal memorial that reflects the one they've lost

Filling the Urn Yourself or Letting Someone Else Do It?

Many people wonder if they can fill the urn themselves. The answer is: yes. At Memories to Keep®, our urns are designed to be opened and closed easily, safely, and peacefully using a key and clear instructions.

Whether or not you do this yourself is an emotional choice. For some, it's a meaningful moment of farewell. For others, it feels too overwhelming. Both are perfectly valid. If you prefer, the crematorium or funeral director can fill the urn for you.

What Makes an Urn Meaningful?

An urn is not only a vessel for ashes. It tells a story. It holds a lifetime of memories. It’s something you choose with care, often during deep grief or reflection.

Often, the choice for an urn arises from the desire to keep your loved one close. To have a place of connection. Literally and symbolically. An urn gives form to invisible love – tangible, visible, near. You can see it, touch it, hold it. It helps you remember. It bridges the space between you and your loved one.

It gives you somewhere to go with your grief.
To light a candle.
To lay your hand.
To pause.
To whisper what you can no longer say aloud.

Its value lies in those small moments that carry deep meaning. The moment your hand rests on the urn. The comfort in knowing a part of your loved one is still with you, physically and symbolically. A place to hold both your grief and your love.

Follow your own needs and give shape to this in your own way. For some people, the urn becomes part of a daily ritual — they light a candle or place a flower with it. For others, it is a quiet presence in the background. How you experience it is personal, but for many it is a source of comfort.

The vase with pink flowers below is one of the special urns that Memories to Keep® offers in its collection. Would you like to buy an urn for your loved one’s ashes? Are you curious about all our products for ash memorials? Click here to view our different types of urns.

Where to Place an Urn in the Home

The urns from Memories to Keep® are designed to truly become part of your home. Not something to hide away, but something that can have a gentle place among the familiar and loved. Combined with a photo, a candle, flowers, or keepsakes, it creates a loving space to hold your memories.

Some place their urn on a dresser. Others choose a quiet corner in the bedroom, or a shelf with other personal mementos. Some find peace in placing the urn outdoors, in a meaningful spot in the garden.

Most important: the place should feel right to you. A space where love remains present, and the urn does not interfere with living your life.

We believe remembering at home doesn’t have to be grand, but rather small, quiet, and sincere. A candle or tealight that you light. A moment of calm, silence. The reassurance that your loved one isn’t far away, but close by. In an urn that not only holds ashes, but also creates space for memory, comfort, and connection.
Made with care.
To be reflected on with care.

Everyone shapes a meaningful farewell in their own way and remembers in their own way. And that’s okay — it’s personal.

Houten urn volwassenen Crossover - Bij een urn kopen kun je denken aan een mini urn of bijzondere urnen, want er zijn meerdere variaties zodat je uitalle urnen de juiste keuze kunt maken.

How Is the Urn Shipped?

What to Consider When Buying an Urn for ashes

Biodegradable Urns - Organic Materials

These special urns are for those who wish to return ashes to the earth. Perhaps the deceased, or you, have a strong connection to nature. These urns allow the ashes to be buried in a (natural) cemetery, where the urn will naturally break down over time, returning to the earth. This eco-friendly option is both sustainable and symbolic – a return to nature.

Burying all the ashes can be a deeply emotional decision. It may feel like a second loss. If this is a concern, consider combining with a mini urn for keeping a small portion of ashes at home – blending a natural farewell with a tangible memory.

At Memories to Keep®, we offer urns suitable for indoor placement or natural burial, like the Cocoon. If you have questions or want personal advice, we’d be happy to help. Click here for contact.

There are many beautiful urns to choose from in various styles, materials, and finishes. And that’s a good thing – because everyone remembers in their own way.

Choosing an urn is emotional. It helps to consider the amount of ashes you want to store, and whether you want to place the urn indoors or outdoors. Not all materials are suitable for outdoor use, which may influence your choice.

Urns for Outdoor Use

These urns are made from strong, durable materials that can withstand the elements, such as:

Natural stone (granite or marble)
Metals (stainless steel, aluminum, silver, gold, bronze, or corten steel)
Specially treated ceramics
Concrete or composite

These urns are usually heavier, sealed, and built to last, even in rain, frost, or sun. They can be placed in cemeteries, urn walls, or gardens. Though made for outside, you can choose to keep them inside as well.

Urns for Indoor Use

For those who want to keep the urn at home, there are warm, light materials such as:

Wood
Ceramic without outdoor coating
Glass (clear or colored)
Textiles or leather (sometimes combined with wood)

Indoor urns can be lighter and softer in design. They don’t need to endure the weather, allowing for delicate details, symbols, or rituals like a tealight holder. They may take the form of a heart, tree, or butterfly and come in various colors: yellow, beige, light blue, pink, anthracite, or purple.

Our Vision: Gentle, Personal, and Mindful

Everything we create is made with care.
Care for the life that was lived.
For the absence that remains.
And for the connection that never fades.

Our urns are more than objects.
They are places of love, of comfort, of memory.

Gently present.
With respect for grief.
And space for what remains.

So you can hold on to what can no longer be held.
And keep them close, day by day.

Choosing the Right Urn – One That Reflects Who You Miss

Our advice: There is no rush in choosing an urn for the ashes. There is only feeling. Sometimes you know it immediately. Sometimes you need time to look, compare, and feel what’s right. Selecting a beautiful urn is an emotional process. Take the time and space to feel what’s right for you and what suits the memory of your loved one. From that foundation, you can begin the search for that one special urn that truly fits.

Sometimes an urn reflects the person you lost. Because of the material. The shape. The look. As if it simply fits, even if you can’t explain why. The right urn is the one that makes you feel, "yes, this is it."

At Memories to Keep®, we believe an urn doesn’t have to be a grand gesture. It can be an extension of love. A way to say: ‘you are still here. Not as before, but still with me’.
All our urns are crafted with care, skill, and emotion. Not mass-produced, but unique vessels of memory – soft in form, powerful in meaning.

Whether you choose a traditional urn, a special urn, a modest mini urn, or an object that reflects the character of the deceased — the most important thing is that the urn becomes a lasting memory, tribute of a loved person. By consciously choosing a unique urn that aligns with your feelings and the memory of the deceased, you give your loved one’s ashes a meaningful place.

Engraving – Making the Urn Unique and Personal

At Memories to Keep®, you can personalize the urn with an engraving, making it even more special – a unique memory of someone who will always be part of your life.

The engraving is placed on the metal lid, not the wood, preserving the urn’s pure design while giving the text its own quiet place. Choose a name, a date, or a meaningful phrase.

If you have any questions or are interested, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We’d be happy to assist you.