Jen & Richard's Sweet Skype Success

Jen and Richard were such a great couple to work with. They were younger than me but their maturity blew me away. And despite their age, it looked as though they had been dating for their entire lives- so supportive and respectful of each other during the planning process- which makes my job much easier.

The coolest thing about their wedding that I just had to blog about was how one of their most important guests joined them.
Jen's sister was unable to make the trip to Ottawa for the wedding- this was heartbreaking to Jen and Richard and their families since Jen is so close to her sister. So, the family and myself put together a plan to bring a laptop to the wedding and Skype-in her sister. In case you have been living under a rock, Skype is a free software application that lets users make (video) phone calls over the internet. Oprah is a huge fan :)

Unfortunately, the connection didn't work in time for the ceremony at the Chateau Laurier but it was working perfectly immediately following the ceremony. I set up a small round table near the head table and decorated it so it didn't stand out. Setting it up where we did allowed Jen's sister to see/listen to all the speeches, see the guests at their tables and the watch the dance floor for the bridal party's entrance as well as all the guest's dance moves following dinner.

The great thing about Skype is when there are webcams used, both parties can see everything on the other user's end. So Jen's aunts and uncles and family friends were coming up to the laptop to say their "hellos" to her. It gave everyone a chance to connect with her sometime throughout the evening.

The Skype connection was non-stop for over 8 hours. Jen's sister just came and went (in front of her own computer) as she pleased depending on what was happening during the wedding.

There was a fee to this service as we were using The Chateau Laurier's internet. But it was a small price (a flat fee) to pay to make Jen's sister a part of Jen's most important day. If you are looking at doing this for your wedding and have a bit more money to spend, you could look at arranging professional video conferencing systems by AV companies in our city.

Of course, we can't sign off without posting some photos of the rest of Jen and Richard's beautiful day. Thanks again to Miv Photography for sharing these moments.

All the best Jen and Richard xo