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Officiant Beth performing a wedding ceremony

Beth Carlson-Malena she/her

Get to know Greater Vancouver wedding officiant Beth Carlson-Malena.

Greater Vancouver, BC, Whistler, BC

Young Hip & Married Officiant Beth Carson Malena marrying Emily and Corey, photo by Wonderlust Photography

*Not currently booking weddings*

One of my biggest priorities at weddings is to create belonging. I’ve sat through plenty of weddings that made me feel inferior for being a woman, for being queer, or for being single (before I married my wife), so I try to choose language and themes that celebrate all kinds of people and relationships.

Speaking of belonging… I believe all kinds of things can belong in a wedding and will gladly make space for what matters to you, whether it’s holding grief alongside joy and remembering your loved ones, or weaving in some of your cultural traditions, or finding a role for your pet, or quoting your favourite poem or song lyrics, or making a few Star Wars and D&D references to capture your nerdy vibe. If unexpected interruptions happen during the wedding, I can use humour to make those moments feel like they belong too!

Some other distinctives: I offer bilingual wedding services in English and French. I’m committed to making my work ecologically sustainable by going paperless and using my e-bike to travel to any meetings, rehearsals or weddings within Vancouver city limits. I’m grateful to have won two “Best Wedding Officiant” trophies from the BC Wedding Awards, in 2019 and 2020. Oh, and I know how to rock a bow tie.

I would love to grab a coffee or share a Zoom screen with you and hear the story of how you fell in love and made this decision to commit to one another. My hope is that after all the hard work of planning, you’ll be able to let go and breathe easy on your wedding day, free to focus on taking delight in the one you love and the community who loves you both.

Book Beth for Your Wedding

Beth officiates weddings in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland.

Want Beth to officiate your wedding? Fill out our contact form and a member of our team will be in touch shortly!

Book with Beth

We had a fantastic lovely experience working with Beth from Young Hip & Married. We are a queer couple getting married, and we wanted a wedding officiant who would make this wedding special and ensure that our story is told well. Beth was nothing short of amazing, and it was such a smooth and wonderful process. We are thankful she told our love story to our best friends. I recommend her, and Young Hip & Married, wholeheartedly.

Danny & Matthew
Married by Beth, Oct 2019

Beth from Young Hip and Married did our ceremony. In terms of designing the ceremony, she was meticulous in her detail researching our story and was responsive to our needs and suggestions. The ceremony itself was exactly as we had hoped for. She spoke very well and we really appreciated her calmness and energy.

Andrew & Brittany
Married by Beth, Sep 2022

Couldn’t have asked for a better team to get us married! We wanted something quick and meaningful and we got all that and more. Beth worked with us to create the perfect little ceremony and our photographer Sarah was awesome at capturing all the special moments during and as we wandered around by the lake. Shout out to Sky Helicopters (and our pilot, Aaron) for an awesome adventure and the thoughtful gift.

Everyone was super communicative and great to work with. We’ve bragged about how easy and awesome the whole thing was to all our friends so we figured we’d brag about it here too. Thanks again to the team at Young Hip and Married for such an amazing experience xx

Brandon & Rob
Married by Beth, Sep 2021

I went back and forth about hiring YH&M for quite a while. It is a lot of money to spend on an officiant. Beth ended up being so much more than I wanted. She was super attentive and paid attention to every detail. It really showed in our script. It was perfect.

Everyone absolutely adored how personal our ceremony was. It made our vows that much more special as well. Thank you so much Beth for everything. I will recommend you and YH&M to everyone.

Cortni & Dillon
Married by Beth, Oct 2018

Did a helicopter elopement with Young Hip & Married and it was amazing! We loved our officiant Beth and how she worked with us to completely personalize our ceremony! Also loved our photographer Erica who helped us feel less awkward in front of the camera and made us laugh shaking off the nerves! The pilots at SKY Helicopters were aweeeesome and made our ride so fun (and safe!)!

It’s beautiful up there guys! Highly recommend Young Hip & Married and their helicopter elopement package! Thanks for the unforgettable day!

Randi & Kiel
Married by Beth, May 2018

Beth's Story

When my wife, Danice, and I were married in 2014, we hired a Young Hip & Married officiant (who also happened to be our friend), and she wrote a memorable, personalized ceremony for us.

Two years later, I became a wedding officiant in hopes of offering a similar experience to other queer couples I knew, especially those who had been kicked out of their churches after coming out, and still wanted weddings that reflected both their love and their faith.

I soon discovered the joy of working with all kinds of couples, whether they were religious or non-religious, queer or straight/cisgender. I loved the challenge of crafting scripts that highlighted what made each of them unique.

I’ve officiated over 250 weddings since then, and every time I officiate, it feels like such a gift to be invited to tell people’s love stories, and to help them write yet another chapter by bearing witness to this latest milestone in their lives.

When I’m not working on weddings, you can find me writing sermons for Open Way (the little church that my friend and I co-founded), reading the latest sci-fi book, or dancing with my wife, Danice, who works for a DJ company – every so often we both get to work at the same wedding!

Book with Beth

Our big day will never be one to forget thanks to YH&M! Beth was our officiant, and let us tell you we couldn’t have asked for a better officiant! She too was full of personality, and created such a beautiful script for our intimate ceremony at Widgeon Creek.

Our photographer, Erica, was amazing. Despite feeling awkward when taking photos (we’re not ones to pose for mushy gushy photos) she had us laughing throughout, and even though awkward we felt comfortable.

We couldn’t have asked for a better crew from YH&M! Now we fully understand why people say your wedding day is the best day of your life. 150% recommend YH&M. We will be talking about this for the rest of our lives. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts! We are SO damn happy!

Katty & Meags
Married by Beth, Jul 2020

LOVED having Beth officiate our elopement – she made it so personal for us, even added some on-the-fly touches during the ceremony that we will always remember. Should also mention that she hiked through the woods in the rain to be a part of our day – what a trooper! Thank you so much to Beth and Young Hip & Married!

Jackie & Eli
Married by Beth, Mar 2019

Young Hip & Married was just perfect for us. I wanted something beautiful, classy, fun and so so stress free and blam found it here. We booked our elopement through them. Our officiant was Beth and she’s so cute and fun. She made our vows hilarious (we are a humour filled family) and Emily took fantastic photos. I’m super happy with our special day and I don’t think you’ll regret being stressless on your wedding day.

Roger & Huanyu
Married by Beth, Jan 2018

Beth was unbelievably amazing! She made the process seamless, exciting, and personable. HIGHLY recommended her!

Tiffany & Kiana
Married by Beth, Jun 2020

Beth was absolutely fantastic! It was so easy to work with her and the company. We are a queer couple and specifically sought out a queer officiant for our comfort. Beth was extreme helpful every step of the way crafting our perfect ceremony. It was highly customizable and we were sent working drafts before as well. Our ceremony turned out absolutely perfect even in the rain and we are so thankful for Beth for helping us make our day special.

Emily & River
Married by Beth, Jun 2024

Officiant Beth conducting a ceremony in the rain under clear umbrellas

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by Erica Miller Photography