(Dave)
Friends, we have been invited here today to share with Allison and Hugh a very important moment in their lives.

Allison and Hugh, your marriage today is the public and legal joining of your souls that have already been united as one in your hearts. Marriage is going to expand you as individuals, define you as a couple, and deepen your love for one another. To be successful, you will need strength, courage, patience, and a really good sense of humor.

(Blessing to the Four Directions)Heidi)

Long ago, people believed the human soul shared characteristics with all things celestial. They therefore designated virtues to the East, South, West, and North. So, in keeping with that age-old tradition...

We bless this marriage with the virtues of the East: communication between your hearts, minds, and bodies; fresh beginnings with the rising of every day's Sun; and the value of the wisdom of sharing silences.

We bless this marriage with the virtues of the South: a warm and welcoming home; the delight of your hearts' passion; and the ability of both to lighten the darkest of times.

We bless this marriage with the virtues of the West: the deepness of the lake; the swift flow of the river; the newness after rain; and the all-encompassing fervor of the sea.

We bless this marriage with the virtues of the North: a firm foundation to enrich your lives; a constant home to which you will always return.

Each of these blessings emphasizes things that will help you build a happy and successful marriage. But remember, they are only tools; tools you must both use -- individually and together, in order to have what you seek from this marriage.

Let the image of water and romance of your story always flow in your hearts in strong waves, knowing they are guiding you towards a goal fullfilled, a dreaming that is true.

(Vows)Heidi)

Allison and Hugh have written their own vows that they would now like to share.

(Rings)Dave)

All things turn in circles. The Earth spins in a circle and turns around the sun, and the sun turns around the galaxy. Time turns in circles of birth and death and rebirth yet again, and the planets do also spin in this way. And, like all things, marriages move in cycles as well. Sometimes the fires will burn brightly, and sometimes they will die down to coals and then spring up again in bright flames. Sometimes love is warm as the spring, and sometimes it becomes winter cold with troubles and disruption. By taking on the symbol of the circle, you make a promise to remember always that all things come around; to keep faith in spring while enduring winter, to never lose hope that the ashes will flame again, and that your love will be renewed.

(Have Hugh place ring on Allison's finger and repeat)Dave)

Allison, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and of the promises I have spoken to you on this day. I ask you to wear it as a sign to the world that you are my wife. With this ring, I thee wed.

(Have Allison place ring on Hugh's finger and repeat)Heidi)

Hugh, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and of the promises I have spoken to you on this day. I ask you to wear it as a sign to the world that you are my husband. With this ring, I thee wed.

(Dave)
Take hands, both of you. We all understand the gesture that you are now making. To reach out to someone and be acknowledged, held, and loved is what we all want. Taking the hand of one who loves you is the symbol of that unspoken bond.

Your hands are also the part of you that you use the most. Every day you look down at your hands as they do their job, and this is also why we wear a token of our wedding vows there. Every day, as you look down, you will see a brief flash of light, a sparkle as the ring placed on your finger today will shine. It will remind you, again and again, over and over, of your promise to your loved one. Every time you take hands, you will feel that wedding ring on your partner's hand and you will both be reminded again in turn. It will always be with you, visible, worn openly and with pride. It will say to the world that someone loves me enough to make me a promise to share a life.

(Concluding Prayer)Heidi)

It was love that brought you here today. It's love that makes yours a glorious union. And it will be love that makes your marriage endure.

Love has given you wings and your journey begins today. Wherever the wind may carry you, you will stay by each other's side.

I therefore join with everyone gathered here today in extending to you our love and support, and our wish for your relationship to just simply flourish and grow throughout a long and happy life together.

(Benediction)Heidi)

Deep peace of the earth to you.
May serenity and strength be with you.

Deep peace of the air to you as you breathe in its goodness.
May the wisdoms of old flow to your ears.

Deep peace of the sun to you.
May you feel its warmth on your faces and in your hearts.

Deep peace of the waters to you.
May the streams of your lives flow unimpeded
And the stillness of the deep pool reflect in your souls.

Infinite peace to you all, now and forever.
As above, so below. So mote it be.

(Pronouncement)Dave)

Today, Allison and Hugh honored you with their invitation to be present with them today for this ceremony.

And so, this day, they declare before all of us that they shall live together in marriage.

In the traditional way, they entered into their marriage with the joining of hands, the making of vows and promises, and the giving and receiving of rings, an outward symbol of their voluntary commitment to one another.

Therefore, it is my pleasure, that I now pronounce them husband and wife. You may now kiss your bride.