What do they have with going to other religions services? I have been to weddings at other churches (I'm Catholic) and a Jewish funeral. I would have gone to a Korean wedding, but it happened when my grandfather died.
The Catholic funeral doesn't have to be a downer. My uncle died around Christmas 2007 at 84. He was estranged from his two sons for almost their whole lives. My mom was about the only one who visited him in the nursing home for several years before he died. He died in the VA Hospital. He didn't have much money so my mother and an aunt (6 of 9 sibs left) arranged the cheapest funeral they could. He was laid out at the funeral home for an hour and a priest came and did the funeral mass there. About 25 people (all relatives showed up as did his son who lives in Buffalo.
The priest is the pastor of Queen of Martyrs in Cheektowaga and is the chaplain at St. Joe's Hospital. There wasn't much nice to say about my uncle, but before the regular mass started, the priest told a few jokes, which lightened the mood.
At the cemetery, my cousin's husband, who is a minister, said a some nice words. Afterward, my mother had about 10 relatives over and my cousin's husband got us roaring about his stories of being an altar boy and the times he went to a strip joint when he was young.