Technology This article is more than 23 years old

First internet wedding goes online

This article is more than 23 years oldMarriage room at Brent Town Hall

The first wedding in England and Wales to be broadcast on the internet from a council register office was held this morning at Brent Town Hall, north-west London.

Brent Council installed a web cam in its register office, allowing a potential global audience of millions to log on as Ravi Ram and his girlfriend Mamta Patel take their vows.

From now on, the council plans to allow all weddings in the borough's register office to be broadcast online at no extra cost.

"The idea is that if your family are abroad or cannot get to the ceremony they can see the wedding take place," said Pascoe Sawyers.

Mr Sawyers said the cost to council taxpayers will be minimal. "We have all the facilities set up - it is just the cost of a camera," he said.

About 30 non-virtual guests will attend the wedding of Ravi Ram, a psychiatric nurse from Harrow, north west London, and his girlfriend of three years Mamta Patel, 24, assistant manager at a residential home.

However, dozens more friends and family will be logging on to watch the event from Mr Ram's homeland of Mauritius. His sister, Doorga, a social work student, will watch the wedding in cyberspace from the University of Mauritius.

Mr Ram said: "Doorga is still studying, so she couldn't make it to the wedding - the web cam is the perfect way for her to be part of the ceremony.

Miss Patel however said her family in Gujarat, India, would not be able to take advantage of the on-line ceremony.

She said: "I've got a lot of uncles, aunts and cousins in Gujarat but they are all in tiny little villages.

"But I've got friends abroad, especially in the US, who will be watching the wedding on the net."

The couple's wedding ceremony comes before a full traditional Hindu wedding in Wembley at the weekend with more than 300 guests

The Chief Registrar for Brent Council, Mark Rimmer, said the idea had come from a New Zealand couple: "This couple wanted to let their families back home in New Zealand watch their ceremony and share their special day.

"At the time we didn't have web cam facilities and instead they ended up ringing home on three or four mobile phones which let the people back home listen to the marriage ceremony."

For the time being the images are still pictures, updated every 15 seconds, which are immediately transferred to the Brent Council website.

Mr Rimmer said: "At the moment it broadcasts still pictures which are refreshed about every 15 seconds, but we are looking to set it up so it will be broadcast live as it happens - with sound and everything.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEoKyaqpSerq96wqikaKyVmLWvu8uonrJnYmV9cXvArp5oamRktq%2FAxKulnqyemsS0