Planning a funeral is never easy. It is natural for it to be stressful, overwhelming, and emotionally draining.
It is important to remember that you don’t need to do absolutely everything yourself. You can always ask for support from family and friends, and most funeral homes would do everything they can to ease the burden.
That said, to ensure that the deceased are honored and respected according to their wishes, you need to make certain decisions about the type of funeral service.
This doesn’t translate to having the most expensive burial arrangements. Instead, it is about arranging a funeral service that is meaningful to you and the deceased.
There are many different types of burial arrangements that you can pick depending on your religious or non-religious preferences and your budget.
Traditional full-service burial
The traditional full-service burial includes a viewing or visitation, a funeral ceremony, and a burial at the gravesite. Most funeral homes offer this as their primary package.
The viewing or visitation service is where attendees can view the deceased, converse and share thoughts, and pay their respects to the family. The deceased is often embalmed before viewing, especially if it is an open-casket viewing—you can also choose to keep it closed-casket.
Following the viewing, the funeral service can be held at a funeral home, church, or any other event space. Often a traditional service would include songs, prayers, eulogies, readings, and final words spoken by a member of a chosen clergy.
Afterward, the body is transported in a procession to the cemetery or burial location and placed in their grave, typically along with funeral rites.
This may be followed by a funeral reception for the family and friends of the deceased to come together.
Non-religious burial
With more of the younger generation preferring to keep faith out of their funeral services, there has been a surge in non-religious burial arrangements with what is referred to as ‘humanist ceremonies’.
These non-religious services focus on the life of the deceased with no references to God or religion. The focus of these types of funerals would be the tribute section, where family and friends would share personal memories or anecdotes about the deceased.
This type of service is often a lot more personal since there are more memories of the deceased being shared, and could be a lot more emotional for the attendees.
Humanist funeral services are also a good choice for those whose family members recognize different religions—the service can still be very spiritual without being religious.
Direct burial
Also known as immediate burial, this type of burial involves burying the deceased shortly after passing without a funeral service or formal ceremony.
This is often an affordable option, as embalming the deceased is not necessary.
Caskets are also a significant expense for most funerals, but with a direct burial, a simple box can be used for the burial instead of purchasing an expensive casket.
The funeral home would take care of any of the essentials of the service, such as obtaining the death certificate and the required permits. They would also take care of preparing the body and arranging transportation to the cemetery for the burial.
The cost of the cemetery plot could be rather pricey depending on the location, so ensure you consider this as well when looking at funeral costs.
Gravesite burial service
This is when the funeral service takes place at the cemetery or burial site itself instead of the more traditional options such as a home, church, or event space. This type of service is also called a committal service.
Attendees gather at the gravesite for a service led by a chosen officiant. While these burial arrangements are similar to traditional funeral services in their itinerary, they are often much shorter.
Make your burial arrangements meaningful to the deceased
At Devlin Funeral Home, we ensure that everything is organized according to your wishes. No matter what type of burial you decide to go with, the most important factor is that your deceased is respected with the service.
