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A bride and groom laughing as they read their vows to each other beside an arch of roses, with hills behind

Marriage celebrant, Northcote + Melbourne

A wedding ceremony that sounds exactly like the two of you

I’m Elena Vale, a Northcote celebrant and former drama teacher, marrying couples all over Melbourne.

The legal side done properly, sound the back row can hear, and a ceremony said to your faces, not read off a page.

I start every ceremony on a blank page.

Enquire with ElenaAbout Elena
A bride and groom with their foreheads together, laughing, in low golden sunlight among bare trees
Elena Vale smiling, in a brown linen jacket

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Introducing Elena Vale, marriage celebrant

What’s included

What comes with every ceremony

Every legal ceremony comes with the paperwork, the sound and a calm person in charge.

  • A blank page, every time

    Your stories, written fresh until it sounds like you. No templates.

  • Proper sound

    A PA, wireless mics and music, so the back row hears every word and your videographer gets clean audio.

  • The legal side, handled

    Your notice, the paperwork and lodgement with BDM Victoria within 14 days.

  • Meet where it suits

    In person around Melbourne or by video, as often as you need. I reply within two working days.

  • Calm on the day

    I arrive 45 minutes early with a signing table and two chairs, and check the sound.

  • A backup plan

    If I’m ever too ill, a celebrant I trust steps in with your script.

How it works

  1. Say hello

    Send your date and rough location. The first chat is free.

  2. The notice

    Your notice reaches me at least one calendar month, and no more than 18 months, before the day.

  3. Writing it together

    A questionnaire each, a story session, then drafts until it sounds like you.

  4. On the day

    I arrive early, lead the ceremony, then lodge it with BDM Victoria within 14 days.

An older couple laughing together on a garden bench under an olive tree

Got a date pencilled in?

Ask about your date

Notes from couples

  • “We asked for under half an hour and Elena still fitted in how we met, both our mums and the flat tyre on our first holiday. She answered a ridiculous number of emails without a sigh. Calm, early and funny in the right places. Our friends are still quoting it.”

    Sam and OllieGarden ceremony, Yarra Valley

  • “Elena made the legal side painless. She witnessed our notice on a video call, told us exactly which documents to bring, and on the day we just turned up and said the words. It felt like us.”

    Priya and TomBackyard wedding, Northcote

  • “Warm, organised and easy to talk to. Short, personal, and we heard every word from the back row.”

    Mia and JordanSmall ceremony, Mornington Peninsula
More reviews
Black and white photo of Elena Vale smiling in a garden, wearing a linen jacket over a white shirt

About Elena

Two friends asked me to marry them. I said yes.

I taught drama at a Preston high school for eleven years, helping nervous teenagers find the right words.

Then two friends asked me to marry them. It was the best afternoon of work I’d ever had, and the vows soon beat marking essays.

I live in Northcote with my partner, our two kids and a greyhound called Biscuit, who stays home. I still love the hush just before the vows.

More about me

Let’s write one your guests actually listen to.

Plain words, real stories, and your names said properly.

Check my availability
  • A bride and groom laughing as they walk past climbing white roses
  • A bride smiling as she reads her vows from a small card
  • Black and white photo of a couple with their foreheads together
  • An older couple laughing together on a garden bench
  • A vow booklet tied with a dark red ribbon beside a white rose
  • Two gold rings in a dusty pink velvet box
  • Two glasses of sparkling wine on a stone wall before a garden ceremony