Special Shape Headstones

Special shape headstones (hearts, teardrops, and angel designs) bring a softer, more personal silhouette to a grave than a traditional flat or upright marker. In our live catalog, these granite memorials range from $2,999 to $8,599, sized from a 24-inch single heart up to a 50-inch double angel and heart design, each set on its own granite base. Once you confirm your cemetery's rules for shaped monuments, our online design app lets you personalize the stone, choose a color, and place your order without a showroom visit.

Choosing a Shape That Tells Their Story

Special shape headstones in this collection come in six design variations, each carrying its own quiet meaning. A heart shape speaks to devotion and is the most requested design for a single memorial, available as the 24″ x 6″ x 26″ Single Heart with 36″ base, priced $2,999–$3,399. A teardrop softens grief into a visual tribute, often chosen when a life was cut short, shown here as the 26″ x 6″ x 36″ Tear Drop with 36″ base, priced $3,249–$3,599. Double hearts and angel-and-heart combinations extend that same sentiment to two names, or add a protective, faith-centered figure watching over the grave.

For a closer look at every heart design side by side, visit the Heart Shaped Headstone collection.

Single or Companion: Honoring One Name or Two

A single heart or teardrop is built to carry one name, while a double stacked heart, double heart, or double angel design holds two names, two sets of dates, and often a shared epitaph. The 34″ x 6″ x 44″ Double Stacked Heart with 48″ base rises taller with two hearts set on one base, priced $3,299–$3,799, a popular choice for husbands and wives memorialized together. If you're weighing a special shape against a more traditional two-name layout, our Double Headstones hub and Single Headstones for Two Names collection show companion options in flat and upright styles for comparison.

Sizes, Bases, and Stone Colors Available

Sizes run from a 24″ x 6″ x 26″ single heart up to a 50″ x 8″ x 30″ double angel and heart design, with granite bases from 36″ to 60″ wide; the Angel Holding Heart design sits on its own 48″ bevel base for extra visual weight. Every shape is available in Bahama Blue, Black, Grey, or Red granite, so you can match the stone's tone to a family plot or simply a color that felt right for your loved one. Browse the full Popular Styles collection if you want to compare a special shape against a flat or slant marker in the same stone colors.

Confirming Your Cemetery Will Accept a Special Shape

Shaped and based monuments face stricter cemetery rules than flat markers, because a heart, teardrop, or angel design with a wide base needs more lawn space and often a poured foundation. Many cemetery sections are flat-marker-only, and even sections that allow upright or based memorials may cap height, base width, or stone color for consistency across the grounds. Before you place an order, get your cemetery's written confirmation of what's allowed in your specific section: style, maximum size and base width, foundation requirements, and whether a plot number must appear on the stone. The FTC Funeral Rule governs funeral homes, not cemeteries or monument dealers, so it's worth confirming directly with your cemetery office rather than assuming any outside memorial will be accepted; see the FTC's consumer guide for what that rule does and doesn't cover. The Monument Builders of North America also publishes general guidance on monument selection, a useful second resource while you gather your cemetery's rules in writing.

Personalizing Your Special Shape Headstone

Personalizing a special shape headstone starts with names, dates, and an epitaph, and can extend to clipart emblems, religious symbols, or a layout unique to the life you're honoring. Our online design app lets you arrange text and choose from a clipart catalog or ready-made templates, so you can preview a heart, teardrop, or angel design before it goes into production, without visiting a showroom. The Angel Holding Heart design and the Double Angel & Heart design both allow sand-carved detailing across the angel figure in addition to lettering, and our team can help you work in a ceramic photo portrait if you'd like one alongside the engraving.

Once your design is approved, in-stock granite moves through production on our standard 30-day turnaround. We offer free standard shipping to a business address anywhere in the continental U.S.; shipping to Alaska or Hawaii and residential delivery carry an added fee, and expedited shipping is available for an extra cost based on distance and stone availability. Signature Headstones does not handle installation, and our prices cover the headstone and base only, so check with your cemetery about who sets the stone and what setting or foundation fee applies.

Frequently asked questions

Will my cemetery allow a heart-shaped, teardrop, or angel headstone, and who do I ask?

Acceptance depends on your cemetery's own rules rather than any state or federal law. Call your cemetery's office or monument coordinator and ask, in writing, whether your section allows a heart, teardrop, or angel design, what size and base width are permitted, and whether a foundation is required. The FTC Funeral Rule applies to funeral homes, not cemeteries, so it won't settle this for you; your cemetery's written policy is the only confirmation that counts.

What's the difference between a single heart and a double or companion heart headstone?

A single heart or teardrop carries one name, one set of dates, and a short epitaph. A double stacked heart, double heart, or double angel and heart design is built wider or taller to hold two names side by side, such as for a married couple memorialized together.

What sizes and base widths are available for special shape headstones, and how do I know which fits my plot?

To know which fits your plot, measure the available width and depth at the grave and compare it against the base width listed for each design, then confirm that measurement against your cemetery's own plot and foundation requirements. Our customer support team can also talk through sizing by phone or email.

Can I choose the stone color and add engraving or a photo to a special shape design?

You can personalize the stone with names, dates, an epitaph, and clipart or emblem designs through our online design app, previewing the layout before production begins. If you'd like to add a ceramic photo portrait to the design, our support team can help you work that into the layout.

Does the price include the base, and is cemetery installation included?

Yes, the listed price for each special shape headstone includes its matching granite base. Installation is not included; your cemetery will typically charge its own fee to set the stone, so confirm that cost with your cemetery representative.

How long does it take to receive a custom special shape headstone, and how is it shipped?

Custom special shape headstones built from in-stock granite move through production on a standard 30-day turnaround, with free standard shipping to a business address anywhere in the continental U.S.

Why Signature Headstones

Signature Headstones is a family-owned company that engraves every special shape headstone in our own studio, drawing from more than a million pounds of granite we keep in stock, which is part of what keeps our 30-day turnaround realistic rather than a promise made and broken. Every heart, teardrop, and angel design carries our 500-Year Guarantee that the stone will hold its beauty, and pricing is published plainly on each product so you know what you're paying before you start a design. Our support team is available seven days a week by phone or email if you have questions about sizing, your cemetery's rules, or the design itself.