About this vendor
A local favorite who works with all faiths, all styles and expression of love!
As a native South Floridian, I love serving local couples as well those who travel here for destination weddings. I do travel to perform weddings as well. I was ordained in 2009 and only began officiating in 2015 after leaving my path of teaching yoga and life coaching. I have since performed over 250 ceremonies and the majority of people love the blessing of peace and love that I bring to their ceremony. Each couple has a unique story and the best part of being a rabbi is that I get to create an authentic ceremony based on connecting with the sweetness of your love story. No two ceremonies are alike as I know each of us are divine. I enjoy finding your divinity and I am told by the many guests I get to meet and from my peers, that it shows in my sweet performance.
I am not your ordinary rabbi I am ordained Reform, however I raised my children as orthodox so I have first hand experience in two very distinct covenants. My approach to Judaism is anchored by the consciousness of the heart, elevated by the spirituality of the soul and grounded in the delight of knowing the body. My passion stems from many years of various forms of devotional ritual and ceremony, coupled an intrinsic awareness that God is within us all. My parents raised me to view everyone with compassion, understanding and to love upon all our neighbors of the earth.
I will joyously perform a customized ceremony rich with love, life and humor at a location of your choice, just the way you want itā¦barefoot on the beach, at a resort, at a nature park, or simply in your backyard. Personable, professional and easy to work with, I have excellent references and love my role as a life celebrant!
For more information, please contact Melinda at (954) 901-1355 or visit her website at https://melindabernstein.com
My passions include spending time with family & my 3 grandkids and living an earth based, holistic lifestyle.
Details
Business Attributes
- Woman-owned Business
Ceremony Types
- Civil Union
- Commitment Ceremony
- Elopement
- Interfaith Ceremony
- Non-Religious Ceremony
- Religious Ceremony
Religious Affiliations
- Jewish
Wedding Activities
- Premarital Counseling
- Wedding
- Ceremony
Awards and Affiliations
3-Time 'Best of Weddings'
2024.2023.2022.
Best of Weddings
The Knot independently assesses vendors for this awardāitās never self-reported. We base it on firsthand experiences from real couples and guests, and they must have a 4.5-star average across 7+ reviews in the qualifying year.
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Reviews
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5
out of 5.084 reviews
Review photos
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Rabbi Melinda Bernstein did such a wonderful ceremony for us! We wanted to do things a little differently and sign our ketubah at the chuppah. She happily incorporated that, and it...
was perfect. My grandma and several guests gushed to me about how much they loved the ceremony. Thank you so much for making my husband and my day so special. If you are looking around for an officiant, I highly recommend :)
My wife and I recently had the immense pleasure of being married by Rabbi Melinda Bernstein, and we cannot recommend her highly enough. From our first meeting, Rabbi Melindaās warm...
th, kindness, and genuine enthusiasm for her role in our special day were palpable. She took the time to get to know us as individuals and as a couple, ensuring that our ceremony was deeply personal and reflective of our unique journey together.
Rabbi Melinda has a remarkable ability to blend tradition with modernity, crafting a ceremony that honors timeless customs while also feeling fresh and relevant. Her words were heartfelt and eloquent, moving us and our guests to tears and laughter in equal measure. She created an atmosphere of love, joy, humor, and profound meaning, making our wedding day not just an event, but a beautiful and memorable experience. Stephanie and I cannot emphasize enough how much we enjoyed having her officiate our ceremony.
We are forever grateful to Rabbi Melinda for the incredible role she played in our wedding. She not only officiated our marriage, but she also enriched our lives with her wisdom and kindness. If you are looking for a rabbi who will make your wedding day extraordinary, look no further than Rabbi Melinda. She is a true gem and a blessing to all who have the fortune of working with her.
As the mother of the bride, I cannot express enough gratitude for Rabbi Bernsteins role in making my daughter's wedding day so incredibly special. From our initial meeting to th...
e final moments of the ceremony, Rabbi Bernstein exuded warmth, compassion, and a deep understanding of our family's values. Her ability to personalize the ceremony, weaving in traditions and sentiments unique to our family, was truly touching. Rabbi Bernsteins presence added an extra layer of meaning to the day. We fell in love with her right away. The wedding ceremony was the best. I wholeheartedly recommend her to any family seeking a compassionate and thoughtful officiant for their special day.
We absolutely love Rabbi Melinda. She took the time to understand us as a couple and tailored our ceremony to be exactly how we envisioned it. She is warm, kind, engaging, and per...
sonal. We also took her premarital course and greatly appreciated the structure and content of Rabbi Melinda's process. We highly recommend!
Very available, professional showed up on time. Would highly recommend.
We can't thank enough to Rabbi Melinda for being at our service.
Due to the consequences me and my husband got married, we hadnāt had much time to plan or prepare properly (Iām fro...
m Israel and my partner is from Florida).
We flew all the way to Miami, had some schedule changes- but Melinda was so understanding and supporting.
She did up and above her responsibilities to make sure we had a pleasant experience and adapted the ceremony according to our needs.
It was so nice to see someone lead a ceremony and be a guide to help people learn about other traditions. Melinda gave a beautiful and calm vibe. The family and friends felt very c...
onnected.
Rabbi Bernstein was wonderful to work with. She was very professional, patient, and easy to communicate with throughout the entire process. You can tell she genuinely loves what sh...
e does. It was a pleasure to have her officiate our wedding. Canāt recommend her enough to couples looking for someone to help them celebrate their special day!
I am the Mother of the Groom and I was around when my son and his fiance were doing their premarital coursework. The topics were so interesting that my husband and I began to parti...
cipate. We all had great conversations and as a result felt so emotionally close to one another. As a mom, I am very grateful that Rabbi Melinda was so flexible in allowing our children to complete this course in a hastened schedule. Thank you.
Rabbi Melinda is awesome. We needed to take a pre marital class before our appointment to pick up our wedding license in order to get married the same day. Without taking a state a...
pproved course, we would have to wait at least 3 days. My fiancĆ© & I are very busy and wanted to get married before the end of the year. Miami Dade marriage division website gives a list of over 100 approved classes. Prior to speaking with Rabbi Melinda, I spoke to 2 other places. One was a clergy and the other was a psychologist. Neither of these would accommodate our schedule. On the other hand, Melinda was so very flexible. She immediately assured us that our schedule would not be a problem. Then she expertly explained the method of her class and the expectations she had on us. Everything she told us was reasonable and we were excited to take her online class. We spent hours talking to each other and shared our inner most feelings. We felt closer than ever as a consequence of Rabbi Melindaās class and we wrote a summary of our experience. Anyone looking to take a premarital class, I highly recommended this class. 100%.
Rabbi Melinda was a pleasure from the start. We were happy from A-Z with all that she brought to our ceremony and our lives. We are forever grateful to her for bringing her warmth,...
professionalism and uniqueness to our special day.
Rabbi Melinda is an angel! From the moment we first spoke we instantly knew to stop searching. She kept in contact with us and engaged our vision perfectly. Our guests raved about ...
her presence and we were blown away by the way she expressed our values during our ceremony. We are eternally grateful and will always remember her for making our wedding ceremony wonderful! Thank you again Rabbi Melinda
She was professional and easy to communicate with! Anyone looking to do a reform Jewish wedding I would consider Rabbi Melinda ā„ļø
Working with Melinda was the best experience! She is extremely communicative, professional, and exudes such a kind and calm energy. She was able to create a bespoke ceremony for my...
husband and I that beautifully highlighted our beliefs and the key elements of our relationship. We are so grateful for her, and we would recommend her services to anyone and everyone!
Rabbi Melinda was a pleasure to work with. She was patient, resourceful, and made our ceremony really special. Would recommend her to anyone I know.
Rabbi Melinda was great professional and personable, the process was seamless and she made everything convenient
Melinda was very professional, on time, and communicated with us every step of way!
Working with Melinda was an absolute pleasure from start to finish. She made the entire process of crafting our Ceremony for our wedding completely seamless. She was available alwa...
ys via text, call or email! Prompt and concise in all correspondence. Highly recommend Melinda!
Melinda Bernstein was the perfect choice to officiate our wedding. The ceremony she presided over was personalized, heartfelt, and engaging. Our guests are still raving about it!
...
We had a humanist/interfaith ceremony that incorporated a rose unity ceremony and a modern version of the Seven Blessings read by family members. She transitioned between each of these events with ease and flawlessly guided our family through their part of the ceremony. We felt like she truly exuded warmth and kindness, making our vows that we said to each other that much more special.
Rabbi Melinda was very accommodating of our needs, and even went above and beyond. She met with us via Zoom (we weren't local) a month before the ceremony and called us on our journey to wish us safe travels to Florida. She also asked us how we wanted her to dress for the ceremony and sent in the marriage license so we didn't have to worry about it. She arrived super early for the ceremony, answered our last-minute questions and put us at easeāagain exuding a warmth and kindness that makes her extraordinary, and made us feel extraordinary.
We could not have had a more perfect ceremony, and we enthusiastically recommend her for yours!
Melinda was truly a blessing! We were scrambling to find a last minute officiant the day before as our original plan fell through due to a series of very unfortunate events. We cam...
e across the Wedding Officiants of FL on Google and I proceeded to give them a call hoping for the best. Melinda was on her way to the gym but still took the time to listen to my story. Not only did she agree to come wed us in a different county, but she also gave us a discount given that it was not part of our original budget. On the day of the wedding, we had even more delays but Melinda was very patient and proceeded to turn it into one of the most memorable days of our life. I cannot recommend her and her team enough. Thank you Melinda!
Rabbi Melinda Bernstein was such a blessing to us. From our first FaceTime call to the "You may seal this union with a kiss", she personalised the ceremony to match our style and o...
ur vision (and she color coordinated, too). Her graciousness, humor and words of wisdom were engaging from the get go. We are so grateful to have had her contribution to our beautiful day and she sent us well on our way to our happily ever after. Thank you, Melinda ā”
Melinda was amazing! She takes the time to get to know you before the ceremony, so you feel comfortable and confident that everything will go well. She was fun and helped us stay r...
elaxed with her warm smile. She worked with an amazing translator that helped our non english speaking family understand the ceremony. Everything went smoothly, she arrived in time, she was prepared, ready, and made the whole experience unforgettable. It wouldn't have been the same without her. Highly recommended!!
Paulo S
Thanks Rabbi Melinda! gracias por la hermosa ceremonia. Divertida, romƔntica y especial.
Rabbi Melinda was a pleasure to work with and my husband and I feel so blessed to have had her as one of our co-officiants at our ceremony. Iāve been working with her since our ori...
ginal date in 2020 and she was so accommodating for all the changes to our dates! Our ceremony was seamless, beautiful, and truly tied into the fabric of our marital vows. She personalized our ceremony in a way that will live in our hearts forever. She also was able to blend well with our other officiant and even set up a joint zoom meeting for everyone to discuss! She was always available by email and I am thankful for her support and guidance. I fully recommend working with Rabbi Melinda for your upcoming ceremony!
From the moment my partner and I met Rabbi Melinda, we knew she was the right person to marry us. She took the time to get to know us, understand our connection and our unique spir...
ituality. She captured all of this and performed the most beautiful ceremony that was 100% true to us. It was like she had known us since the beginning of our relationship! We laughed, we cried & we rejoiced, and everyone attending could feel the love radiating from underneath our chuppah. Melinda is kind, caring, and extremely professional. She made our wedding day one that we will cherish for the rest of our lives together. Thank you Rabbi Melinda!
Rabbi Melinda was punctual, very professional and down to earth. She made our wedding a pleasant day and I recommend her if you want to get married here in Florida!
Ariel and I loved having Melinda as our officiant. She took the time to learn more about us and our relationship and was helpful tailoring our ceremony perfectly to us. We had a lo...
vely ceremony,. thank you Melinda!
Rabbi Melinda Bernstein was amazing to work with from the initial call to get to know each other to our custom sweet ceremony on the beach.
Melinda has listened to our requests, ...
and incorporated our wishes to the ceremony to make the day feel special and ours.
Could not have find a more suitable person for our wedding.
Absolutely Wonderful
Melinda understood and connected with the type of ceremony we were going for right away. Her sermon was flawless and beautiful!
We were so lucky to find Melinda on a whim with a simple Google Search. Right away we knew we wanted to work with her after exchanging a few emails. She was prompt, professional, w...
arm, and very understanding of what my husband and I were looking for. Working with her really couldn't have been a smoother experience. We did a Zoom call a month before the wedding where she gathered some information about my husband and I, and she did such a wonderful job including it into her sermon. She also gave us options as to what type of wedding ceremony we envisioned and it couldn't have been more beautiful. If you are looking for the perfect officiant, look no further because Melinda is the absolute BEST!!
Rabbi Melinda made our experience from our first call to the ceremony perfect. She is accommodating, professional, and made us feel so comfortable. Before our wedding, she gave us ...
great suggestions to help us make the ceremony truly "us". The ceremony she wrote for us was beautiful, authentic and encompassed everything we wanted. Every family member in attendance told us how amazing Rabbi Melinda was and how beautiful she made the ceremony. We cannot recommend her enough!!!
Rabbi Melinda is a delight to work with! A genuine and kind spirited person who helped us tremendously every step of the way. Look no further because she is a gem and one of a ki...
nd. We are looking forward to utilizing her services for our vow renewal!
Rabbi Melinda is PERFECTION. We got married during the pandemic and she made it happen. She was personal, easy to work with and professional. She is warm, bright, spiritual and som...
eone you want to marry you. She was flexible with us being in another city and through zoom, still built a connection. We highly recommend Melinda!!
Rabbi Melinda Bernstein struck just the right cord for our daughter and son-in-laws wedding. She is a warm, loving person, authentic and delightful. The ceremony was simple and tou...
ching. It was truly a sacred moment that well remember for a lifetime.
Rabbi Bernstein was excellent from start to finish. My wife and I selected Rabbi Bernstein for our wedding in November 2020. I wasnāt sure what to expect since I grew up Lutheran, ...
but the entire process was spelled out from the beginning, so there was absolutely no stress on our wedding day ā trust me, that is a BIG deal š.
From the initial conversation, the expectations were set, and during our consultation, she got to know us not only as people but as a couple. The āROADMAPā exercise is something neither one of us will forget and is a good reminder of how to continue developing and loving one another every day.
I truly enjoyed how the ceremony incorporated our values to a tee, and it was easy to follow for my family since most have never been to a Jewish wedding.
I would highly recommend Rabbi Bernstein!
Bringing two people, two families, two values, and two religions together in a ceremony can be tricky, but Rabbi Bernstein handled it beautifully. My husband and I grew up in diffe...
rent religions, he is Lutheran, and I am Jewish. Early on I made it clear that I wanted a Jewish family, so when we got engaged it only made sense to find a Rabbi who would work for both of us, and start our Jewish home and life off on the right foot. Rabbi Bernstein listened to our needs as a couple, planned the Jewish ceremony that we wanted, which explained all of the traditions to our non-Jewish guests, and everyone was blown away at how beautiful of a ceremony it was.
Leading up to the ceremony we participated in Rabbi Bernsteins, āROADMAPā premarital counseling, this was amazing and brought each of us to think about what we want to bring to our marriage and the responsibilities we have for one another. Sharing these with each other was truly a special moment. Everything from our initial conversation to the excited photo we took after our ceremony with our marriage license, Rabbi Bernstien made this the easiest and most enjoyable process, where we truly got to focus on our love, and she handled all of the other ceremony details. There are a lot of Rabbiās out there, but with Rabbi Bernstein you canāt go wrong.
Rabbi Melinda was truly so wonderful! I was unsure and nervous about finding the right fit for my fiance and I since we come from different faiths. It was important for us to find ...
someone who was able to make us both feel comfortable from start to finish. Melinda really captured everything we expected and more! She was thoughtful, detail oriented, and patient with us each step of the way. .. and very funny too which helped break the ice! Highly recommend for wedding or any occasion!
Rabbi Melinda helped make our wedding ceremony as perfect and special as it was!
She was kind and helpful the entire time leading up to the wedding.
Due to COVID, we did a FaceT...
ime meet and greet which was nice and convenient. She asked about details of our relationship, how we met, what drew us to each other and used that in our ceremony to make it extra personal and sweet for us.
My husbandās family is not Jewish, and although it was technically āinter-faithā in the eyes of G-d, Rabbi Melinda helped us have a beautiful, reform and relaxed Jewish wedding, including some customs like the wine prayer.
She has a worksheet she sends for you to complete your pre-marital course with, which also discounts your marriage license fee. It was fun for us to complete that and share our answers with each other and our Rabbi.
She was easy to work with and accepted Zelle payment which made everything even easier. We also feel her fees were very fair.
She was even as thoughtful as to ask us which outfit weād prefer for her to wear during our ceremony and included the traditional Jewish garment, as we preferred.
During the outdoor ceremony, Rabbi Melinda, my husband, and I, stood socially distant under the Chuppah so she kindly officiated the ceremony without having a mask block her face, which was extra thoughtful.
We would absolutely recommend Rabbi Melinda to officiate your wedding if you are looking to have a happy, friendly, kind, Rabbi who performs beautiful ceremonies for unique weddings like our āinter-faithā Jewish wedding :)!
Melinda was extremely personable from the first conversation. She has a warm aura that draws you in. From that first conversation there was no doubt in my mind that she would be ou...
r officiant. She took the time to get to know us. We wanted a mostly non-denominational ceremony, with lots of humor, Melinda executed it flawlessly. On our wedding day Melinda arrived early and helped to really keep us grounded and in the moment. Our wedding ceremony was perfect and authentic. It was exactly how i envisioned it. Melinda is able to read a room and her presence was loving. We highly recommend Melinda to anyone who wants a truely heartfelt and loving ceremony. Thank you so much Melinda it was a pleasure working with you.
Rabbi Melinda created the most beautiful ceremony for us. It was unforgettable. Can't go wrong!!
Rabbi Melinda was a pleasure to work with from start to end. Her calm demeanor and willingness to help her couples craft their ideal ceremony is the reason why we chose her for our...
wedding! We got soo many compliments from our family and friends about how she delivered our ceremony. She was intentional with her delivery, and even added some humor! She truly helped us craft a ceremony that mixed Jewish and Catholic aspects seamlessly. Thank you again, Melinda!
And future brides: book her! You will not be disappointed!
I was most impressed with Rabbi Melinda who recently officiated at my daughter's wedding, a destination celebration in Key West on May 4, 2019. There were 100 guests from differen...
t religious backgrounds and she was universally praised for her meaningful and sincere spiritual leadership of the ceremony. She has a lovely, calm manner and is a pleasure to engage with. She also provided insightful, helpful suggestions in the planning discussions prior to the wedding. I think she is amazing and highly recommend her.
If you want a personized warm and creative ceremony Rabbi Melinda is the Rabbi you should have perform your ceremony! Yesterday My husband and I renewed our vows on our 50th weddin...
g anniversary. Rabbi Melinda worked with us to make our event meaningful and special. We were so happy that we were lucky to have such a wonderful event. Thank you Rabbi!!!
Rabbi Melinda was a gem to work withā¦ Upon the first meeting we knew she was the right one for our wedding. On the day of the wedding she came as planned & provided us with a beau...
tiful ceremony. She is very personable & cordial. We also treasured that she was a sweetheart of a person. We wholeheartedly would recommend her to anyone looking for a professional and personable rabbi.
From the first time we spoke until after our wedding day, Melinda showed up with professionalism and an ease of understanding in what we wanted. Not only that, Melinda made us feel...
at ease from start to finish, was available for all our questions and went out of her way to make sure our day was perfect and it was perfect! Don't think twice about hiring Melinda and contact her quick before someone else does!
Rabbi Bernstein is a true blessing. 5 Stars arenāt enough to express the magnitude of the kindness, caring, and professionalism Rabbi Bernstein brought to our sons wedding in Coral...
Gables. Reaching the Rabbi over the internet justifies its existence.
Ellen Ā· married on 02/09/2019
5.0
Beautiful Backyard Wedding
Melinda was perfect for our ceremony. We wanted a jewish wedding that our families could be a part of, held in our ...
backyard. Melinda met with us prior, in a convenient location to get the details settled and to get an opportunity to personalize the ceremony for us. The day of the wedding, she showed up, chupa and all, ready to go. The ceremony was short and sweet- just what we were looking for and we couldn't have been happier. Melinda is vibrant, positive and exactly what we needed. Thank you so much Rabbi Melinda!
Melinda was amazing from the start. She really took the time to understand what we were looking for and created the perfect wedding for us. Thank you Melinda!
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Tri County South Florida and beyond
Rabbi Melinda Bernstein's photos