HIGH TECH HITCHING
by Paris Permenter and John Bigley

>more on how to plan a destination wedding

It's the day you've dreamed about all your life. You'll exchange vows with the one you love, surrounded by all your family and friends.

All, that is, except for a few who couldn't make it. Your elderly uncle in Miami. Your very pregnant best friend in Seattle. Your cousin stationed overseas.

Today, however, out of sight doesn't have to mean out of luck. Whether your dream wedding is a destination wedding in an exotic locale or a traditional ceremony not far from home, you can capture the event and share it thanks to the latest technologies. High tech options can bring the joy of your special day to guests around the world thanks to the modern miracles of videoconferencing, satellite uplinks, and the Internet.

Or you might opt for a less immediate but no less thrilling choice such as digital photography, a wedding DVD, or even a personal web page complete with wedding video clips.

The choice is yours.

VIRTUAL WEDDINGS

Today, thanks to technology, couples can bring all their guests to the wedding, or at least a virtual version of it. Live connections can be set up to present the event as it happens and to archive it for you and yours to enjoy later.

Presently, couples have several real time options based on budget, wedding location, and broadcast quality. The highest quality comes in the form of a satellite uplink and downlink, transmitting a live feed straight to a satellite for downlink anywhere around the globe. This high quality comes at a high price, however; expect to pay between $8,000 and $10,000 for this service, which can be arranged through audiovisual companies and conference hotels.

For other couples, videoconferencing makes it possible for the words "I do" to be seen and heard around the world. Videoconferencing has long been an option widely used by corporate meetings and requires the use of a dedicated, high speed line such as ISDN. Many conference hotels such as the Huntington Hilton in Melville have the capability for these transmissions with in-house audiovisual departments to assist with all the arrangements.

To set up a videoconference, the wedding couple works with a hotel's audiovisual department as well as a videographer. The cost starts at about $2500 for a half day. Your guests, wherever they may be, will need to go to a facility that can receive the videoconference transmission; this can mean booking a room at a hotel with the same capabilities or just going to a high tech office service store such as Kinko's which offers videoconferencing facilities.

WEB WEDDINGS

The third option, lowest in both quality and price, is a webcast. With this service, weddings can be broadcast live on the Internet for a fraction of the cost of other broadcasts. Broadband access is necessary to avoid a jerky image but, even on high speed lines, quality can suffer when Internet traffic gets heavy.

Web weddings have become especially popular with couples planning a destination wedding and are now offered as a wedding package option starting about $500 at some romantic resorts. In the US Virgin Islands, Marriott Frenchman's Reef and Morning Star Beach Resort both offer couples the chance to broadcast their wedding over the Internet. The package includes "invitations" sent via email, a website with a wedding photo album, streaming video of the ceremony, a CD-ROM of the event, and a virtual guest book "visitors" can sign.

Couples that don't utilize the web for the wedding ceremony itself need not worry; there's always the option of using the web after the ceremony to share photographs of that special day. Alan Wiedre, president of Jeffrey Photo-Video Studio, Inc. (www.jeffreystudio.com) in Nesconset, explains that his clients "can have a website built for their wedding. We don't do digital photography but we do scan negatives and offer low resolution scans." Low resolution photos are used for web design or for emailing to friends.

Wedding web pages can be anything a couple desires, from an intimate recounting how they met and the events that led up to their wedding day to more documentary accounts of the wedding and the honeymoon trip.

AUDIO WEDDINGS

Another high tech option with a low tech price tag is the conference call. Services such as WorldCom Conferencing (www.worldcom.com) offer couples the options of linking guests to the wedding through nothing fancier than a telephone line. Couples can call and reserve a specified number of telephone lines for their virtual guests. At the wedding, the couple and the officiant wear microphones, and an audio feed is broadcast to listeners. Prices vary with the number of guests but expect to pay from about $300 for this type of service.

VIDEOGRAPHY

Your romance has been like a movie, from the moment the two of you met to the day, soon, when you will walk down the aisle. For more and more brides, that romance is literally being transformed into a movie, one that's enhanced thanks to high tech equipment. Today's videographers are utilizing the latest technology to weave a couple's story into a movie complete with special effects.

How can you be assured of finding a videographer with the skills to incorporate today's high tech options into your wedding video? Steve Wernick, spokesperson for Wedding and Event Videographers Association (WEVA) International (www.weva.com), suggests "the couple should know how current the videographer's tools are. Digital cameras and non-linear editing systems are the most up-to-date hardware available. All other things being equal, I would suggest choosing a videographer who uses those tools. Analog cameras and editing systems are not necessarily bad things, but those systems do not offer the flexibility of the digital ones." Non-linear editing systems allow videographers to bring many of the stylish effects you've enjoyed in movies and television to your video, everything from montages to complicated overlays.

Wernick suggests asking videographers if they have membership in WEVA. Also inquire about their attendance of industry conferences and meetings to help you determine if the company is up on the latest trends in this fast-changing industry.

HIGH TECH PHOTOGRAPHY

Technology doesn't just play a part in moving images; it has changed the way couples can view and share still images as well.

Instead of passing along proofs (which carry a hefty charge if lost), many wedding photographers also now allow couples to select wedding photos online. This not only permits the bride and groom to choose photos faster (often within a few days of the ceremony) but it gives families the chance to directly order wedding photos.

Many photographers are now offering digital photographs on a CD as an option to the traditional negatives, proofs, and prints. "The response to digital wedding photography has been very good," points out Brian Ozegovich of Park Ave Studio (www.parkavestudio.com) in Sayville. "Most enjoy the idea of having their images on a CD. Most opt to have the CD then proofs. The idea of being able to take your wedding CD, place it in your own computer, and email and share your precious memories with friends is amazing."

Ozegovich points out that CDs can offer a good option for couples who would like to allow relatives and friends to order photos. "Imagine if the only set of proofs that you mailed to the in-laws got lost in the mail. That would be a total tragedy and an expensive one, too. Now if that happens, you burn a new CD."

Many studios now offer couples the option of viewing and cropping their photos in a high tech way as well. At Park Ave Studio, couples view their album on a big screen TV, designing the wedding album as they see the photos. At Jeffrey Photo-Video Studio, the bride and groom view photos on the computer, cropping and ordering at the same time.

Regardless of the high tech avenue you choose, these new tools are good additions to the whole bouquet of photo and video options that will keep your wedding memories alive forever.