I’ve been a Celebrant for over a decade, and I continue to be amazed and delighted with how technology has positively influenced my work—both securing and working with clients, as well as enhancing the ceremony experience.
Many years ago, I had a stunning February wedding at the Murray Hill brownstone home of the bride’s girlfriend. I was drawn to the couple, who had a warm and somewhat dizzying love story. While the bride wished her dear sister could participate in the ceremony, she was homebound in London, preparing to deliver her child. The couple decided that she would be Skyped into the ceremony and offer a “virtual” reading during the ceremony. A laptop was set up near the area where the couple exchanged vows, and her sister read a special passage for the day. Voila!
Some years later, a Silicon Valley couple hosted a small wedding on New York City’s High Line, the urban garden developed on an abandoned elevated train line in the Meatpacking District, Their group used technology in clever ways, which have now become standard practice. Not only did one of their friends “broadcast” the entire ceremony to West Coast family members, but for the first time in my career, the groom read his personal vows on his smart phone. Of course, that practice is commonplace now.
A recent Simply Eloped couple eloped to Central Park, from their San Diego home. The bride’s parents were unable to travel from Southern California, so they “attended” the ceremony via Facetime.
As we move into this (hopefully) brief period of the Corona Virus outbreak, I imagine that some wedding guests may not be able to attend the ceremony of loved ones. Thankfully, new technologies will allow them to enjoy the wedding, while safely tucked away back home.
