Cyberguests Attend Weddings via Skype

The daughters/bridesmaids connect with family in New Zealand.

We live in an electronic age for sure. While virtual weddings aren’t legal yet, at least not in this State, guests are finding inventive ways to “attend” a wedding from afar.  While officiating one such ceremony I noticed the bride holding something next to her bouquet.  I mused:  A small Bible?  A photo of a departed loved one?  Nope, turns out it was a cell phone.  Dad couldn’t come, but he was right there with her on speaker phone. 

At another wedding of an older couple, their daughter stood with them holding her brother, or at least the laptop through which he was Skyping from Hong Kong.  After the ceremony, the family posed for an interesting picture; the sister stood between her newly married parents, holding the electronic version of her brother, whose smiling face filled up the entire computer screen.  It gives a new meaning to the expression “talking heads.”

Speaking of “talking,” it’s a good idea for the guests to hit the mute button at their end. I recently officiated a wedding at our chapel in which guests were Skyped in from New Zealand. I’m sure they were not aware that we could all hear their running commentary, in a thick New Zealand accent, amongst each other. "Crackie!"

At still another in-home wedding, a young couple traded vows in front of the fireplace before a dozen or so guests.  They perched on the living room couches and chairs, with two more on the coffee table—that is, two laptops.  One was connected to loved ones in California and the other to a branch of the family in Canada.  Following that ceremony, the couple squatted down in front the coffee table with a glass of champagne, in a virtual toast to each computer, and to the kinfolk who could not be there in person. I wonder if wedding invitations will change their RSVP Yes-lines to: “I plan to attend in person,” or “I plan to attend via cyberspace.” Yes, it certainly is an electronic age we live in!