Coming together thousands of miles apart

DENVER - It's the day every little girl dreams of: their wedding day. But chances are Shannon Emerson never dreamed it would end up happening this way.

"Today we have the privilege of celebrating the wedding of Ashley Shupe and Shannon Emerson," Elder Chip Roberts said at the rather unusual ceremony at the Denver Church of Christ.

The two met on a blind date

Emerson was there, a bride being walked down the aisle by her father, but Shupe had to take a different pathway to the ceremony.

He was there waiting at the end of the aisle, but instead of standing in the church, he was on a computer screen.

Shupe is many miles away, serving as a captain in a hospital in Baghdad, Iraq. That meant he was participating in the wedding ceremony through the Internet. A Web cam using Skype broadcast their pictures to each other.

"It's a reminder of the sacrifices being made over here as well as the sacrifices overseas," Roberts said. "Despite time and space, personal challenges and unexpected difficulties, your love and faith have brought you two together."

Emerson is actually living in Seattle, but came to Denver because Colorado is one of five states where marriage by proxy is allowed.

The two could have waited to get married, but didn't see the point if they could say the important words to each other through cyberspace.

"I now pronounce you man and wife, you may now blow kisses to each other," Roberts said.

The bouquet toss may have taken place in Iraq, but in June, Emerson and Shupe will be able to kiss each other in person.