Death is part of life. However, not everyone preplans for this event. In many cases, planning for funeral services becomes a role of the surviving family. Planning for the funeral can become overwhelming as that death is an emotional event. Luckily, funeral homes provide support through a range of services and related activities. These services range from preparing the body, organizing legal documents, and arranging for funeral services. Below are the funeral services offered by funeral homes. 

Burial 

There are two types of burial services offered by funeral homes, namely traditional full-service burial and direct burial. There will be a body visitation, a funeral ceremony, and a burial at the gravesite in conventional full-service burial. Ideally, visitation involves open or closed casket body viewing to pay last respects. In the case of viewing, body embalming is often recommended. Then, there is a funeral ceremony, which can occur in the church, funeral home, or open space. A common ceremony often includes prayers, hymns, eulogy, and tributes. Finally, the funeral home arranges for transportation of the body to the cemetery for burial. 

In comparison, direct burial is much easier. The striking arrangement is that the burial happens almost immediately after death. Moreover, there are no formal funeral ceremonies involved. In this case, the funeral home will only charge for death permits, body preparation, transportation, and cemetery grave plot. These fewer services makes the funeral cheaper. 

Cremation

A funeral home can also organize a full-service cremation or direct cremation. Typically, a full-service cremation involves body viewing and a funeral ceremony before the cremation process. Importantly, in cremation, the body is disposed of through a crematorium furnace. In direct cremation, the body is cremated within a short period after death. Since there is no visitation, embalming is not needed. In both types of cremation, the family will get the ashes in an urn for disposal or keeping. The difference between the two cremation services has an impact on pricing. 

Graveside Service

The graveside service is a formal ceremony that occurs at a cemetery. Essentially, the mourners gather at the gravesite for an officiated service. The ceremony may include prayers, sermons, tributes, or eulogies. These activities are almost similar to a full-service funeral but brief. The body is then buried or kept in a mausoleum. Notably, the ashes from a cremation service can also be buried or scattered after a graveside service. 

Memorial Service

In a memorial service, all the rites of a traditional full service occur without the body. The memorial service can happen before or after the body disposition. The goal of the service is to memorialize the departed through remembrance and tributes. 

Ultimately, funeral homes provide a wide range of services. The decision for a specific package depends on the family and the deceased person's wishes. Finding and working with a professional funeral home can ease the burden of funeral logistics.