Traditional Funeral Service: What to Expect

A traditional funeral service is a formal service held with the body present, usually in a casket. It typically includes a visitation (also called a wake or viewing), a ceremony with readings, music and a eulogy, and a committal at the cemetery or crematory. A reception often follows. You do not have to use every part, and you can buy each item separately.

What is a traditional funeral service?

The National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) defines a funeral as a service held with the body present that commemorates the life of the person who died. A memorial service is the same kind of gathering held without the body.

Traditional funerals can include a public viewing or keep the casket closed, and they can lead to burial, entombment or cremation. What makes a funeral "traditional" is the structure: a planned sequence of gathering, ceremony and final farewell, usually arranged with a funeral director.

Burial used to be the default. The NFDA projected a US cremation rate of 63.4% and a burial rate of 31.6% for 2025, so cremation is now more common. Many families who choose cremation still hold a funeral first.

What happens at a traditional funeral, step by step

Order and length vary by faith, region and family. This is the usual sequence.

1. Visitation, wake or viewing. Friends and family gather, often the evening before the ceremony, at a funeral home or place of worship. The NFDA glossary uses visitation, viewing and wake for the same gathering: a time with the body present to offer condolences and support. The casket may be open or closed.
2. Funeral ceremony. Held at a funeral home, place of worship or another venue. It usually has music, readings or prayers, a eulogy or remembrances, and words from an officiant, who may be clergy or a celebrant.
3. Procession. Family and guests travel together to the cemetery or crematory, often behind the hearse.
4. Committal service. The concluding rite. The NFDA notes it can take place at the end of the funeral service, at the graveside or at the crematory. Pallbearers, typically six to eight friends or relatives, carry the casket.
5. Reception or repast. Many families gather afterward for food in a hall, a home or a restaurant. It is optional and is often arranged separately from the funeral home.

For how long each part usually runs, see how long a funeral service lasts. To build a running order, use a funeral service order template.

Traditional funeral, memorial service or celebration of life?

The NFDA describes a celebration of life as an informal gathering, often in a park, restaurant or gallery. For the differences in more detail, see memorial service vs funeral and what is a celebration of life.

How much does a traditional funeral cost?

Prices differ widely by region and funeral home, so the most reliable number is the one on your funeral home's General Price List (GPL). The Funeral Rule requires the home to give you the GPL when you start discussing prices, services or the type of funeral. Funeral directors must also give price information by phone if you ask.

A traditional funeral is built from separate line items, which is why the totals vary:

• the funeral home's basic services fee (the one charge you generally cannot decline)
• transfer of the body, embalming or other preparation, if you choose them
• use of the facility and staff for the viewing and for the ceremony
• a casket, or a rental casket where the home offers one
• the hearse and any other vehicles
• cemetery charges: the plot, opening and closing the grave, any required grave liner or vault, and the marker. These are often billed by the cemetery rather than the funeral home.

Before you pay, the funeral home must give you a written statement that lists every item you selected, its price and the total. Compare it against the GPL.

For a wider look at typical totals, see funeral costs in the USA and how to negotiate funeral prices.

What the law does and does not require

These are the points families most often get wrong. The FTC Funeral Rule covers funeral homes that sell both goods and services.

• Embalming. The FTC says no state law requires routine embalming for every death. Some states require embalming or refrigeration if the body is not buried or cremated within a certain time. Funeral homes cannot tell you embalming is legally required when it is not, and must put a notice next to embalming prices explaining that, except in certain special cases, embalming is not required by law but may be necessary for certain arrangements such as a funeral with viewing. Many homes require it for a public viewing as their own policy. See is embalming required by law.
• Caskets. A funeral home cannot refuse a casket you bought elsewhere or charge a handling fee for it. See buying a casket online.
• Burial vaults. Providers must state that in most areas state or local law does not require a container around the casket in the grave. Many cemeteries require one anyway to keep the ground level. See burial vaults explained.
• Packages. You can buy only the goods and services you want.

Can you have a traditional funeral and choose cremation?

Yes. The body can be present for the visitation and ceremony, then go to the crematory instead of the cemetery. Some funeral homes rent a casket for the service, and the person is then cremated in an inner container instead of the rental. Not every home offers this, so ask whether it does and what it costs.

The alternative-container rule applies only to direct cremation, where no service is held. There, you cannot be told a casket is legally required, and the home must offer an alternative container such as fiberboard or cardboard. See cremation vs traditional funeral.

Religious and cultural differences

The structure above reflects common North American practice. Faith traditions vary, and so do families within them.

• Many Christian families hold a visitation or wake, a funeral service or Mass, and a committal.
• Traditional Jewish practice does not include viewing the body or an open casket, generally avoids embalming, and calls for burial as soon as possible. Practice differs between Jewish communities. See Jewish funeral traditions.
• In Islamic tradition the body is washed and wrapped in a simple shroud, and burial usually takes place as soon as possible, often within a day. See Muslim funeral traditions.

If the person belonged to a faith community, contact their clergy or community leader early. They can explain what is expected and help with timing.

What to do next

1. Call the funeral home and ask for the General Price List and, if you want one, the casket price list.
2. Decide which parts you want: visitation, ceremony, procession, reception.
3. Ask the officiant and cemetery about timing before you set a date.
4. Write down who will speak, read and carry the casket.

For help with the order of decisions, try the funeral planning timeline or the funeral type finder.