What Are Funeral Services and What Do They Include?

Funeral services are the coordinated arrangements that follow a death: caring for the body, holding one or more ceremonies, and either burying or cremating the remains. A funeral home typically provides these services as a package, and what is included varies by provider, by whether you choose burial or cremation, and by religious or cultural custom. Use this guide to understand the main components before you contact a funeral home, so you can ask specific questions about scope, timing, and cost.

The Core Components of Funeral Services

Most funeral services combine four elements. Not every arrangement uses all four, but knowing them helps you compare providers.

1. Care and preparation of the body

• Transfer of the deceased from the place of death to the funeral home.
• Embalming, a preservation process that is generally required when a body will be viewed at a public ceremony with an open casket; it is not required for direct cremation or immediate burial.
• Preparation and dressing, including hair, cosmetics, and clothing, for viewing or visitation.

2. Ceremonies and gatherings

• Visitation or wake: a scheduled time for family and friends to gather, often with the casket open or closed.
• Funeral service: a formal ceremony, held at the funeral home, a place of worship, or a graveside, led by clergy, a celebrant, or family members.
• Memorial service: a ceremony without the body present, common when cremation or direct burial has already occurred.
• Committal or graveside service: the brief final ceremony at the burial site or crematory.

3. Final disposition

• Burial, which requires a cemetery plot, a vault in many cemeteries, and opening/closing of the grave.
• Cremation, which returns the remains to the family as ashes in an urn; ashes may be buried, placed in a columbarium niche, scattered, or kept.

4. Goods and logistics

• Caskets for burial or for cremation (a combustible casket or alternative container is used for cremation).
• Urns for cremated remains.
• Funeral flowers and other tributes.
• Transport, including a hearse and family vehicles.
• Paperwork, such as filing the death certificate and securing burial or cremation permits.

Traditional Funeral vs. Cremation Service: A Comparison

Neither option is inherently better. Burial suits families who want a permanent gravesite to visit and follow traditions that require interment. Cremation offers flexibility in timing and location of a memorial and avoids the cost of a plot, though it still involves fees for the crematory and any ceremony you choose.

What to Confirm When You Contact a Funeral Home

Before signing an agreement, ask for a written, itemized list. Confirm these points:

1. Scope of the package — which of the components above are included and which are billed separately (for example, embalming, use of the chapel, hearse, or clergy honorarium).
2. Timing — how soon a service can be scheduled, how long visitation lasts, and any deadlines tied to permits or cemetery availability.
3. Third-party costs — cemetery plot and opening fees, crematory fees, flowers, and newspaper notices are often outside the funeral home's package.
4. Payment terms — ask directly about payment plans and accepted payment methods; the provider's site lists a Payment Plans page, but confirm current terms with the funeral home rather than assuming.
5. Your rights — in many jurisdictions you may buy a casket or urn elsewhere and decline services you do not want; ask what the provider's policy is.

Religious and Cultural Differences

Customs can change the sequence and content of a service significantly:

• Some traditions require burial within 24–48 hours and discourage embalming.
• Others call for open-casket visitation, specific prayers, or a wake lasting several evenings.
• Cremation may be discouraged, permitted, or required depending on the faith.
• Some families hold a memorial weeks after death rather than a service immediately.

Tell the funeral home your tradition at the first conversation so the schedule and preparation are handled correctly.

Practical Next Step

Write down your answers to three questions before you call: burial or cremation, whether you want a viewing, and where the ceremony should be held. With those decided, you can ask each funeral home for an itemized quote covering the same items and compare them directly. For a Delmar, NY provider, confirm service area, scheduling, and the full list of included and separate charges before committing.