HEARD AROUND THE WORLD

George and Smita had their wedding at a beautiful hillside setting overlooking the Hudson River Valley in South Salem, NY. It was called Le Chateau, and was built by J.P. Morgan as a gift for his friend and former minister (what a gift!).

I arrived early, as I usually do, to check out the grounds and see that everything was in place for the ceremony. I noticed an array of sophisticated computer equipment a few feet from where the ceremony was to take place. I asked George about it, thinking to myself that maybe they were going to take some “home movies.” He replied, “Captain, your ceremony will be seen and heard around the world at the exact same time you will be performing it – in India, the UK, Belgium and the Czech Republic. That’s where Smita and I have family and friends who could not be here today, and you know the old saying, ‘if Mohammad can’t come to the mountain, then let’s bring the mountain to Mohammad’.” It seems they made arrangements with their friend Abby, who without a question is a “computer genius,” to set up this broadcast.

A few weeks after the wedding, I received an email from George and Smita telling me that the broadcast to their family and friends was a great success. They had all seen and heard the ceremony as it was actually being performed, the different time zones did not matter at all. Ahhhh, the wonderful world of computer technology and the internet. Where in the world would we be without it??

(See their note to me).

George & Smita Thomas
Stamford, Connecticut
June 18, 2005
Married at Le Chateau
(South Salem, New York)
Dear Captain Arnold,

Thank you for sending us a copy of our wedding vows and the pictures.

George and I would like to thank you for our ceremony. It was lucid and thoughtful, and truly made us feel that we went through a profound ceremony that cemented our bond. The words were carefully chosen and beautifully said. They brought tears to many eyes, including mine as you know very well! Thanks for the warning ahead of time and for bringing the tissues 🙂 Many of our guests came up to us after the ceremony to let us know how much they appreciated it. They wanted to know how we found you! (Thank you Internet). As you know we broadcast the ceremony overseas using a webcam, so our distant family could participate in the ceremony as well. They could hear you quite clearly. We have saved a recording of the ceremony and enjoy looking at it over again.

The webcam recording does not have very good image quality (we had to keep the resolution low for transmission) but it serves the purpose of a memory — the audio is quite clear though once the volume is turned up. If you need help viewing it, please let me know!

George and I are leaving for our honeymoon (to Alaska!) in an hour. We will be back on July 10th.

Thanks again.

Sincerely,
Smita