Along with venues and wedding planners, celebrants are the vendors we have the most to do with at a wedding. We’ve worked closely with hundreds of marriage celebrants at weddings in Melbourne and Country Victoria over the years. Here are our favourites, in no particular order.

Elisa Westein

Always thrilled to learn Elisa is going to be our celebrant. She’s the definition of professional. Elisa knows exactly what to do when, communicates brilliantly, and adapts to unforeseen dramas without missing a beat. Simply a dream to work with.

 
Elisa is big on audience interaction. From her initial introduction she gets your guests involved. A wedding ceremony presided over by Elisa is always a raucous affair, with plenty of cheering and laughter. And as a genuinely warm and friendly person she’s just a pleasure to be around.
 
If you’re looking for an all-round performer who’s going to make your wedding ceremony go without a hitch (except the most important one), Elisa Westein is the best.
 
Contact Elisa via her website or on 0428 273 767.
 

Paul Bonadio – A Stand-up Celebrant

All of our favourite celebrants are pretty funny in their own right, but as an actual stand-up comedian it’s fair enough to say Paul Bonadio has an unfair advantage.
 
Paul has a gift for writing comedy. Every monologue is original. Just give him the raw material and he’ll fashion it into something worthy of a Netflix special. With a nose for sniffing out a story, Paul presents vivid anecdotes about couples’ first dates and personal oddities to the unexpecting public. Like a news-reader’s, his characteristic dry, dead-pan delivery is the perfect medium for communicating shocking information.

 
He also offers a service called Pimp My Celebrant, where you get to choose exactly what he wears. We would encourage you to take full advantage of this offer. Mankini in July perhaps?
 
If you want a marriage celebrant who is going to get the laughs, book Paul Bonadio – A Stand-up Celebrant.
 
Paul is based in Collingwood. He services the greater Melbourne area plus Mornington Peninsula, the Yarra Valley, and Geelong. You can get in touch with him via his website or on 0417 502 921.
 

Sarah Aird

Sarah Aird is the celebrant’s celebrant. With Sarah you’re not just getting a celebrant – you’re getting the guru. CEO of the Celebrant Institute, trainer of celebrants, host of The Celebrant Talk Show podcast – Sarah is known in the industry as The Oracle. With her encyclopedic knowledge of the legalities of marriage in Australia, Sarah’s a goldmine of information about getting hitched.

 
This might make her sound intimidating, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. In person she’s warm, bubbly, and generous. Her celebrancy style is perfectly pitched: open, interactive, adaptable to couples from all walks of life, and with just the right amount of humour thrown in. An excellent communicator, she works seamlessly with other vendors. With Sarah Aird at the reins you can be confident your ceremony will run like clockwork.
 
Get in touch with Sarah via her website or on 0458 022 190.
 

Photo: Nikola Janev

Prisca Singson – Celebrate Life With Prisca

We met Prisca at one of her very first ceremonies as a celebrant. She’d clearly hit the ground running though, because she nailed it.
 
What stands out immediately about Prisca is her warm and kindly personality. We hit it off right away. She’s an outgoing, enthusiastic celebrant, who obviously loves what she does.

“From the very first call, we knew that we could trust Prisca to be our celebrant for our special day. Thank you for articulating our love story with so much passion, it really felt like it was told by a good friend who was there from the beginning. We really enjoyed working with you throughout the whole process, you’ve really put us with ease with your knowledge and ideas. We also appreciate how generous you are with your time leading up to the day – from volunteering to read through our vows to make sure they were aligned to checking in with us right before the aisle. We loved the stories you told to our family and friends which brought us a lot of laughter and warmth in our hearts.” Gwen & Andy
 
If you’re looking for a true people person to conduct your wedding ceremony, someone caring, humble, and thoughtful, then Prisca is your girl.
 
Contact her via her website or on 0401 533 881.
 

Meriki Comito

Meriki is a warm and gentle person, and this is reflected in her ceremonies. She’s a calming presence at any wedding ceremony. With Meriki at the helm you and your guests will always feel relaxed and comfortable. You’ll also feel secure knowing you’re in the hands of a true professional.

The reason we love working with Meriki is her attention to detail. She’s always highly organised, and you know she’s got your back.
 
Meriki has been a celebrant for over 14 years, and was voted one of the Top 5 Best Marriage Celebrants in Melbourne by ABIA.
 
You can contact her via her website or on 0417 394 792.
 

Choosing Marriage Celebrants

So what do all the best marriage celebrants have in common? Our team, having been involved in thousands of wedding ceremonies between us, have narrowed it down to the following.

COMMUNICATION

Communication, both leading up to the wedding, and on the day, is vital. A good marriage celebrant will help you every step of the way, be there when you need them, and provide expert advice. Good communication with other vendors (like your musicians and photographers) is also important, as it makes everything go smoothly on the day.

POSITION

This one’s a bugbear for many photographers, and we tend to agree. Do you want the celebrant in every single one of your ceremony photos? Doubt it. Sure, there are some moments where they may need to be standing between the two of you. Otherwise good celebrants know to position themselves off to one side and out of your photos for most of the ceremony.

POISE

Things will go wrong at wedding ceremonies. It happens. You can’t plan for every contigency. What matters is how quickly and gracefully your celebrant recovers. The best marriage celebrants are observant enough to know when something has gone awry. They don’t panic or get flustered. And they quickly neutralise the problem – often using it to their advantage to provoke a laugh from guests. These mistakes can even turn into a highlight of the ceremony.

IMPROVISATION

Good celebrants are good improvisers. Nothing more boring than a celebrant with their nose buried in their script. That doesn’t mean your celebrant should freestyle the whole ceremony though. We’ve had celebrants skip the signing on a whim, and forget the kiss altogether. Confusing as hell.

PERSONALITY

Happy to report that nearly every celebrant we’ve worked with was a nice person. But some stand out for being particularly genuine, warm, and friendly. You can tell who geuninely loves their job and who doesn’t. It makes a huge difference to the experience for you and your guests on the day. And that goes for all your wedding vendors.

PRESENTATION

On one hand most couples don’t want a celebrant who is going to draw too much attention to themselves. It’s your moment, not theirs. On the other hand there’s a point where casual becomes slovenly. Discreet, classy presentation is the baseline. That said, if you want Batman to handle your legals nobody’s stopping you.

AUDIBIILITY

A marriage celebrant is someone who is paid to speak in public. They should know how to make themselves (and others) heard. That means bringing appropriate equipment and knowing how to operate it. Some celebrants can’t, or won’t, provide reasonable quality amplification. We feel that’s a massive red flag. You want vendors who are going to go the extra mile to make your wedding great, not looking to shirk their most basic responsibilities.

PUNCTUALITY

Only one person is allowed to be late to your wedding. A good celebrant arrives in time to be set up, deal with any issues, have a chat with the wedding party and vendors, and be calm and collected in time to seat guests and begin proceedings.

HUMOUR

Okay, you might not want Dave Chappelle officiating your marriage and cracking jokes every five seconds (or maybe you do), but a little bit of humour goes a long way. A solid gag to begin proceedings is a great way to get everyone relaxed. So look for a celebrant who at least HAS a sense of humour.

INTERACTION

Your guests will enjoy the ceremony more if they’re involved. The best celebrants don’t talk at your guests, but with them, plying them with questions and cues, and reacting to them in real time. If your family and friends are a shy bunch it’s even more important. At the very least you want a nice loud cheer from your guests as you head off back up the aisle, and a good celebrant will make that happen.
 
Looking for a venue for your wedding ceremony? This article covers all our favourite wedding ceremony venues in Melbourne and Country Victoria.