Funeral traditions vary greatly across cultures, regions, and religions, making it difficult to choose the right arrangements. However, a funeral service is an essential opportunity to honor a loved one’s life, creating lasting memories for friends and family.

Here’s a look at some common types of funeral services to help guide your decision:

Traditional Funeral Service

A funeral service takes place in a funeral home or church, with the deceased’s body in a casket. The casket may be open or closed, and these services are typically time-sensitive since the body is present.

Funerals include various elements that can be customized based on preference. Common features of a funeral service are eulogies, religious readings, prayers, and music. A traditional funeral offers an opportunity for family and friends to gather and pay their respects.

Outdoor Graveside Ceremony

A graveside service is similar to a funeral, but it takes place entirely outdoors at the burial site. Like a funeral, it often includes eulogies, songs, and religious readings. For military veterans, special ceremonies to honor their service are typically held during the graveside service.

A graveside service is sometimes called a committal service. The term “committal service” comes from The Book of Common Prayer, making it typically religious in nature, whereas graveside services do not necessarily follow a religious format.

Immediate Burial

A direct burial skips any formal service and immediately buries the body. Direct burials are often referred to as affordable burials as they cut down significantly on funeral costs. In addition, because the body is laid directly in its final resting place, embalming is not needed. 

Direct burials require a plot at a burial ground, which means a headstone or grave marker will also need to be purchased. Some people cut costs even more by using a simple box instead of a casket. However, you can still buy a high-quality casket for this final disposition.

Comprehensive Cremation Service

A full-service cremation is when the funeral service and viewing happen before the body is cremated. Often, a family will want to embalm the body and have the casket present at the formal service. Once the services conclude and people have said their final goodbye, the body is cremated. 

Immediate Cremation

Like a direct burial, with direct cremation, there are no formal services before the final disposition. Instead, the family, or funeral home, typically works with a crematorium, and the deceased is incinerated immediately after death. Unless otherwise specified, you will receive the deceased’s remains in a plastic bag within a small nondescript box and then must choose a cremation urn.

Direct cremations do not have a formal ceremony or wake preceding them. However, as with direct cremations and burials, the family can hold a formal funeral service or a funeral reception later. 

Commemorative Service

Memorial services are a hybrid of a funeral and a celebration of life. Typically, memorial services are for those with cremated remains. One of the main distinguishers between a memorial service and a funeral is that the body is present at a funeral. 

Memorial services can consist of funeral and celebration elements and also have a wider window of time for planning as the remains have already been cared for through burial or cremation.

Life Celebration Ceremony

A celebration of life is a gathering that happens after the deceased person’s remains have either been buried or cremated, which allows more time and flexibility for planning. A celebration of life can be whatever a family or individual chooses. However, these gatherings typically elevate the loved one’s life and achievements and are a time for people to be together and reminisce on happy memories. 

Secular Funeral Services

While many funeral practices originate from different religious traditions, atheist or non-religious ceremonies are becoming more popular. These non-religious ceremonies can still consist of a formal funeral service. However, the spiritual elements are left out. 

Eco-Friendly Burials

Another non-traditional way to honor a person’s life is a green funeral or burial. These services often do not enlist the services of a funeral director or home. Instead, these natural burials limit waste and chemicals so the deceased’s remains can return to earth and decompose. Instead of a traditional burial, a green burial uses a much more simplified casket. Sometimes, a casket is unused, and the cremated remains are scattered or planted with a tree.

Understanding Viewings, Visitations, and Wakes

The viewing, visitation, and wake are often used interchangeably, but there are slight differences between the three. These are not necessarily funeral services themselves but rather components of more extensive burial services. 

A viewing is typically held at the funeral home, and family members and guests are invited to view the embalmed body the day before the funeral service. The deceased’s body is on display in a casket. The casket can be made from various materials, including wood, metal, or even a custom design. A viewing can also be held for cremated remains if the family chooses. Viewing is one of the optional funeral practices. 

Some people use wake and viewing interchangeably, but the most significant difference between these parts of funeral services is that a wake is rooted in religious tradition while viewing is not. Practices around wakes vary depending on the religion, but typically they are more informal gatherings where people come together and tell stories and pay their respects to the family. There is also often food.

A visitation typically happens soon after someone passes away. Visitations can occur either at the family’s home or the funeral home. Visiting with the immediate family is a way to support them during the grieving process and spend time together.  

How to Choose the Right Funeral Service?

When selecting a funeral service, it’s important to honor the person’s life and keep any specific wishes they had in mind. For example, religious families might want to focus on more traditional elements, while others may seek out a non-religious ceremony. Whatever the choice, it should be a meaningful tribute to your loved one’s life.

Dealing with the complexities of death is never easy, and the grieving process can make planning even harder.