Audrey Rachel Sansom

Welcome, Dearly Beloved, Family and Friends,

We are gathered together here to join Toby Booth and Allison Huston in the spiritual union of marriage.

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Ephesians 4: 2-3

This contract is not to be entered into lightly but thoughtfully and seriously, and with a deep realization of its obligations and responsibilities. Please remember that love, loyalty, and understanding are the foundations of a happy and enduring home.

When reflecting on the meaning of marriage, I came across a passage by Madeleine L’Engle that I'd like to share with you.

"Because it is the nature of love to create, a marriage itself is something which has to be created, so that, together we become a new creature. To marry is the biggest risk in human relations that a person can take… If we commit ourselves to one person for life this is not, as many people think, a rejection of freedom; rather it demands the courage to move into all the risks of freedom, and the risk of love which is permanent; into that love which is not possession, but participation… It takes a lifetime to learn another person… When love is not possession, but participation, then it is part of that co-creation which is our human calling, and which implies such risk that it is often rejected."

Allison and Toby have decided to take the greatest step of all, to accept love, boundless and eternal, to join themselves as one now and forever. What greater thing for two people than to feel like they are joined together, to strengthen each other in labor, to rest each other in sorrow, to help each other in need, to share in joy, and to be one with each other, whatever life has to offer. You two together will now create the most beautiful and sacred thing, a family.

This is a special time of celebration that Toby and Allison will hold in their hearts forever and because of this they are thankful you are here today to share in this moment and add your spirit to this sacred bond. Join us now in blessing their union, clasp each others hands, bow your heads, and lift your hearts together as I bless the bride and groom.

Lord, we ask for your blessings upon Toby and Allison as we celebrate this momentous occasion in their lives. Grant them happiness and contentment, as their two lives become one, as they create a new family and explore the depths of their love for one another. Please help them find words both kind and loving and hearts, always ready to ask for forgiveness as well as able to forgive. Bless their families and friends and the relationships, which have supported, strengthened and sustained them throughout their lives. Bless their home as a place of love and of peace. Amen.

Toby and Allison will now share their vows.

*(Vows)*

Thank you for sharing your vows with all of us.

Do you Toby Booth take this woman Allison Huston to be your lawfully wedded partner, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and woe, for richer or poorer, keeping yourself unto her for as long as you both shall live?

*(Wait for Confirmation)*

Do you Allison Huston take this man Toby Booth to be your lawfully wedded partner, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, in good times and woe, for richer or poorer, keeping yourself unto him for as long as you both shall live?

*(Wait for Confirmation)*

You've both chosen to wear rings as a reminder of these promises. People often say wedding bands are a perfect circle, with no beginning and no end. But these rings did have a beginning. The stones were formed a long time ago deep within the earth.

Eventually, a series of lucky events caused them to rise to the surface, where someone dug them up. Metal was then liquefied in a furnace - molded, cooled, and painstakingly polished. Something beautiful was made from raw elements.

Love is like that. It comes from humble beginnings, and through a combination of serendipity and effort, imperfect beings shape it into something extraordinary. It's the process of making something beautiful where there was once nothing at all. As you look at these rings over the years, I hope you remember that. You've created something invaluable, and just as I know you'll protect these rings, I'm confident you'll protect the commitments you've made to one another today.

Your wedding ring is a circle, a symbol of love never ending. It is the seal of the vows you have taken to love each other without end.

Toby, please place the ring on Allison's finger.

By giving this ring, you do so as a sign of your love, that you have chosen her above all else.

Allison, please place the ring on Toby's finger.

By giving this ring, you do so as a sign of your love, that you have chosen him above all else.

In the eternal words of the poet Rumi

This sacred blessing,

This divine love,

beckons us

to a world beyond

only lovers can see

with their eyes of fiery passion.

They are the chosen ones

who have surrendered.

Once they were particles of light

now they are the radiant sun.



Before these witnesses you have pledged to be joined in marriage. You have sealed this pledge with your wedding rings. Now you may kiss the bride.

Toby and Allison will journey through this life as one. In the spirit of this union the have chosen a unique path. In honor of their family names and their new forged bond the two will take a new name together. Family and friends, I am proud to present for the first time Toby Booth Quest and Allison Huston Quest.

By the authority vested in me by the State of Texas I now pronounce you husband and wife!