Virtual marriages are a growing trend – but technical glitches abound
John Roehsler took his wedding vows, exchanged rings with his bride — and turned to the webcam.

John Roehsler took his wedding vows, exchanged rings with his bride — and turned to the webcam.

“Whoever’s watching … we’re sorry that you couldn’t be here,” the groom said. “But you are here, so that’s great. The 21st century rocks.”

Roehsler and his bride, the former Neperthey Velasco, used a webcast to allow friends and family from roughly 10 states and a dozen countries to view their wedding ceremony live. It’s a service now offered for weddings and funerals to allow far-flung family and friends to take part.

Wedding webcasts have been offered by a few companies for several years, and Las Vegas wedding chapels also market webcast ceremonies. But webcasting a wedding remains unusual; no couple has used the service in Virginia’s Wise County, the first to acquire the technology in 2000, said Clerk of Court Jack Kennedy.

The Roehslers’ June wedding was the first to use the wedding webcast capabilities in New Castle County, where the couple live. Their seven-minute ceremony included all the standard wedding prose, along with a few extras for the Web audience.

“John, please take Neperthey’s ring, so the whole camera and everyone can see here,” said Ken Boulden, clerk of the peace for New Castle County.

The wedding’s intended online viewers included members of the bride’s family in countries such as the Philippines and Thailand. But members of the groom’s family watched online, too, because the wedding took place quickly under terms of the bride’s visa. The couple is also expecting a baby in October.

“Our priorities shifted significantly,” John Roehsler said. “Expecting a child when we entered a new country, we’re both unemployed — the grand ceremony was an afterthought at that point. We both wanted to get down to business.”

Unfortunately, many international viewers saw only blank screens, possibly due to problems with Internet service providers, the groom said. Some in the U.S. also could not watch the ceremony because of firewalls on computer systems at their workplaces…. [read more]

Original content by: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/

Your best friend from college now lives six states away, and the cousin you grew up with is on the opposite coast from you. They may be thousands of miles away, but your out-of-town guests still play an important role in making your wedding day everything you dreamed it could be.

“Americans are more mobile and in-touch than at any time in our history,” says Barry Glick of NAVTEQ’s Traffic.com. “Cell phones and e-mail enable us to maintain close relationships with loved ones who live thousands of miles away, but on your wedding day, you’ll want to have them by your side.”

With some careful pre-wedding planning and a little help from local family and friends, you can help ensure out-of-towners will make the trip – and enjoy the journey. Here are some tips:

To make distant loved ones feel like a part of the pre-wedding excitement, consider sending an e-newsletter in the months leading up to the big day. You can do this on a monthly basis or weekly, whatever fits into your schedule. Fill the newsletter with information about your planning progress (“We booked the reception hall.”), updates on RSVPs (“Don’t forget – RSVPs are due back in just two weeks.”), and amusing anecdotes about life as a bride-to-be (“I gained two pounds tasting wedding cakes last week!).

Create your own wedding Web page where you can include useful photos that will help out-of-town guests recognize important landmarks when they visit. Post images of the outside of your wedding location and reception site, so that when guests arrive they’ll recognize the spot and know they’re in the right place…. [read more]

Original Content by: http://thecabin.net/

BRANDON — In the predawn hours before the annual Wedding Galas gown sale Friday at the Brandon Goodwill Superstore, Lori Sandusky devised a shopping strategy for her future sister-in-law, Lidia Sanders.

“I watched ‘Running of the Brides’ at 2 a.m. to get ready for this,” said Sandusky, who is visiting from Michigan. She arrived with Sanders at 3:30 a.m. to grab the first spot in line for the 6 a.m. opening.

“I know what to do,” she said. “You have to move fast, grab as many dresses as you can, and try them on as fast as you can.”

The event featured more than 250 wedding gowns, in sizes 2 to 26, marked down as much as 80 percent. More than 100 brides-to-be bent on saving big bucks arrived hours before the doors opened for a chance to nab a dress for their nuptials.

The Goodwill bridal gowns are all new and came from bridal boutiques that are clearing out samples, overstocks, discontinued styles or canceled orders. Some of the styles are from major labels, such as Oleg Cassini, Christina Wu, Alfred Angelo and Mon Cheri.

What the Goodwill sale did not have was the breakneck pace of a Filene’s Basement free-for-all. Sandusky’s best-laid plans were foiled when she entered the store; it was more like a commencement ceremony, where rules and order reigned.

Shoppers were handed numbers when they arrived, then ushered into the wedding gown area in groups of 15 and told they had about 20 minutes to shop.

An hour and a half and 20 dresses later, Sanders found her dream dress.

“This is such an important decision for them,” said Michael Ann Harvey, vice-president of Marketing for Goodwill Industries-Suncoast, after watching the first group of brides dither and fret. “I’m not going to enforce this. If they haven’t decided after a couple of hours, I’ll have to say something.”

Sanders chose a white strapless satin gown with a rhinestone-accented bodice and gathered skirt. The retail price was $868. She paid $275.

“I love the elegance of it,” said a beaming Sanders, of Brandon, who plans to wed in July or August 2009. “It’s just perfect.”

Cheryl Whidden, 46, and her daughter, bride-to-be Rachel Whidden, 22, were second in line.

“She’s the oldest of five children. We have a budget,” Cheryl Whidden said. “We don’t want to spend more than $200 on a dress.”

Rachel Whidden said she was not setting a date until she found the perfect dress.

“Everything will be planned around the dress,” the Wimauma resident said. “I’m a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of girl.”

Let the planning begin: She snagged a rhinestone-studded strapless chiffon gown with a crinkled skirt for $275.

“I’m so happy with it,” she beamed. “It was really worth waking early and coming here.”

Bargains for the bride translate into much-needed profits for Goodwill. Sales help offset state budget cuts to programs for the disabled, Harvey said.

Two hours into the sale, Monica Freemont, 38, and her friend, Elena Morris, 32, were bringing up the rear of the line. But they weren’t giving up. The pair drove from Tallahassee for the event.

“I hope there are nice dresses left for us,” Freemont lamented.

Original Content by: http://www.heraldtribune.com/

When it comes to summer wedding attire, comfort is right up there with style.

Designers say female guests favor dresses in lieu of separates for ease.

“We love events because that’s when women think about dresses,” said New York dress designer Donna Ricco.

Ricco, who has built a frock-based empire during the past 20 years, said her best-selling styles are the most straightforward. “You know what shoe to wear. You don’t have to go out and buy new shoes,” she said.

This summer, women attending nuptials have been drawn to prints. The dress that bares a little skin at the neck and shoulders, remains fitted through the ribcage and flares gently from the waist is a great choice for almost any age and shape, Ricco said.

The best example might be the black-and-white dress Ricco designed that Michelle Obama wore on “The View” recently. Ricco said the classic scoop neck ($99-$148 at donnaricco.com) is a style she’s reformulated for years, and one that she’s seen women wear to outdoor weddings.

“Those dresses work well at summer weddings or graduations,” she said.

Versatility is what husband-and-wife team Karen and Warren Hipwell aim for in their dress designs. The couple has been wholesaling its Karen Warren line to some 100 specialty boutiques nationwide (locally at the Triangle Shop in Wellesley, Lola Tortola in Needham and Murray’s Toggery Shop on Nantucket) for more than 15 years. Last December, they opened a retail operation in Hanover, where they spend their days helping women dress up. The flow of women in search of the perfect dress for a South Shore wedding is nearly constant.

Floral shifts have been popular along with classic sundresses. The Hipwells’ racks also are filled with linen, organza and silk styles in both solids and prints. The palette is heavy on lime, turquoise, daffodil and fuchsia.

While the dress works at most every wedding – from “black-tie optional” to “cocktail” – Warren Hipwell suggests an alternative for the ultracasual beach wedding. A metallic organza skirt, paired with a simple tank top and sandals that you already own, is effortless.

“You’re ready to rock and roll,” he said.

Original Content by: http://www.bostonherald.com/

Your wedding budget is beginning to patten little high and you want to cut a few corners to save some cash and so you ask your buddy to get behind the camera. Wrong move. Never allow your friend, be it your best friend or even a close family member, run the camera at your wedding. There are a few reasons for this.

Firstly, there’s much more involved with in capturing a wedding on video recording than your friend will think about. Sound, lighting, positioning, framing, storyline, style, each of these broad categories has numerous tiny little elements where if one is off the whole thing does not look or sound right. Normally a friend will wait until the last minute to get equipment and then not know what they need usually showing up with a less than quality camcorder and only a built in microphone. Batteries, tapes, they don’t think of this things. The less they recognize, the less they’ll show up with.

Secondly, holding a camcorder and capturing a wedding and reception Is not like being there enjoying the moment, it has work and you need to focus on what your doing such as how the shot looks, sounds, where you need to be next, iris, focus, and a bunch of other little nuances. That lends very little time to enjoy the wedding and the people involved which is what you want your family and friends to do while they are there.

Lastly, whenever something should go wrong it could possibly ruin a friendship. It is happened a lot of times before and will happen again, a friend wants to be involved the wedding and only shoots a little bit of footage and not good video because he wants to get that part over with. Or, he forgets the sound, or he forgets to hit record, or he’s out of focus or he just doesn’t know where to be and when, all in all the video recorded isn’t good and most of your wedding is unusable. These will definitely put a strain on any friendly relationship because a wedding video is very important, avoid this potential hazardous situation and rent somebody, outsource the videographer, it is your best bet.