Funeral homes are actually banned by federal law from embalming your beloved departed without your permission. This will save you hundreds or thousands of dollars in costs, and it actually isn't likely to stink up the funeral too much. There is no legal requirement for embalming (except under extraordinary circumstances related to the condition of the corpse or cause of death). Your tax dollars at work!
If your funeral director balks at your effort to save thousands of dollars by opting to avoid a procedure that is mandated by neither religion nor hygienic necessity, try a Jewish funeral home. Jews are forbidden from having their corpses embalmed, under normal circumstances.
You can pack your loved one in dry ice, if you don't have time to embalm him or her right on the spot. A large freezer or cooler can also keep your loved one fresh for a couple days.
Embalming is mostly a North American practice in modern times. European corpses have that trendy "au naturel" look. But Lenin-style super-embalming has recently become the fashion among Russian Mafia bosses. Go figure.
There are more than 400 movies with the word "corpse" in the title, but only one movie with the word "embalming" in the title. It's 1999's Enbamingu, which is Japanese for "embalming." The movie features lots of depictions of Japanese embalming practices, among other things.
~Moloko
