[officiant] Welcome. We are here to celebrate and witness the marriage of Fazia Rizvi and Jeffrey Snider. They are already bonded by mutual trust and affection and they now wish to unite their lives and establish a home and partnership that is uniquely theirs. In this ceremony they dedicate themselves to the happiness and well being of each other and ask their families to join them in affirming this union, so that they may seal and strengthen their love in the presence of family gathered here. Would the bride and groom please approach?

[We entered togther with our sisters to stand on either side of the officiant. Our sisters took their seats.]

[officiant] Fazia. Jeffrey. May the vows you share today be so sacred that your lives will be full of peace and joy, and may the home which you create gather wisdom from all the seasons of life.

[We take our seats on either side of the arbor.]

[officiant] Each marriage is a unique union between two individuals. Each individual brings into that union his or her own set of values, past experiences, family traditions, expectations, and finally, perceptions of love and affection. As all relationships do, a union evolves and matures. It is a give-and-take, sharing situation. The encouragement to grow and develop their own individual strengths brings with it an eagerness to share new discoveries and lends to both a continuing enthusiasm for living. Thus each partner enables the other to grow, discover, to enjoy life, and to reap the rewards of sharing. They are better able to explore life's realities, to form a richer future.

We remind Fazia and Jeffrey always to keep in mind: Marriage allows two people to grow and redefine themselves as individuals and as partners. It succeeds only to the degree that each partner respects and trusts the other. Share the responsibilities of your home and life. Remember to fill each other's hearts with strength and courage, and to encourage each other. Cherish and support each other in sickness, in health, in joy and in sorrow. Help each other to acquire knowledge throughout your lives and to keep your union healthy and prosperous.

The sister of the bride will now read from Walt Whitman's poem, "A Passage to India".

[Fazia's sister stands and reads:]

Lo, soul! seest thou not God's purpose from the first?
The earth to be spann'd, connected by net-work,
The people to become brothers and sisters,
The races, neighbors, to marry and be given in marriage,
The oceans to be cross'd, the distant brought near,
The lands to be welded together.

[officiant] The sister of the groom will now read from a Native American marriage blessing.

[Jeff's sister stands and reads:]

"Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter to the other.
Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other.
Now there is no more loneliness.
Now you are two persons, but there is only one life before you.
Go now to your dwelling place, to enter into the days of your life together.
And may your days be good, and long upon the earth.

[She takes her seat again.]

[officiant] Fazia. Jeffrey. Will you each please stand?

[We both get up and stand in front of the centerpeice with the JP.]

[officiant] Your desire is to take each other as husband and wife. Will you please make your declaration to your family here assembled this evening to witness this ceremony.

[Jeff] I, Jeffrey Snider, want you, Fazia Rizvi, to be my wife, to accept my love as I accept yours, and to face the future together always. [Jeff puts a ring on Fazia's finger.]

[Fazia]: I, Fazia Rizvi, want you, Jeffrey Snider, to be my husband, to face the future with, always accepting my love as I accept yours. [ Fazia puts a ring on Jeff's finger.]

[officiant] Fazia and Jeffrey have chosen one another from the host of men and women of the earth, and have declared their love and purpose before this gathering. Let all others honor them and the threshold of their house. We wish them courage when the way is difficult, humility when fortune favors their lives.

By authority vested in me by the state of Texas, I, Judge Beth Smith, declare them husband and wife.