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Get me to the church... online! Hoo village wedding of Jason Avis and Alla Boleyko to be streamed live across the internet

Jason Avis and his fiancee Alla Boleyko who will tie the knot in a wedding to be live-cast on the internet
Jason Avis and his fiancee Alla Boleyko who will tie the knot in a wedding to be live-cast on the internet

It will be the quintessentially English late summer wedding – with a difference.

Forget old, borrowed and blue, this happy couple will definitely have something new as the whole ceremony will be beamed worldwide on a live internet stream.

When Jason Avis, 41, discovered the parents of the bride could not fly to his wedding, he wanted to include them somehow.

So Mr Avis today ties the knot with his bride in a live-cast wedding ceremony in Hoo, near Rochester.

The former Hundred of Hoo School pupil has installed a camera next to the altar and spent months tweaking it, even making a test broadcast to his sister.

Mr Avis, an administrator for a City law firm, met his Ukranian fiancee Alla Boleyko, 31, who is studying to be a tourism lecturer, three years ago on a blind date.

Alla's parents Victor and Valentina suffer from high blood pressure. Earlier this year doctors told Victor he could not fly to Britain from their home in Kiev.

So her brother Ruslan plans to walk her down the aisle at Hoo Parish Church. But thanks to Mr Avis' efforts, Victor and Valentina will be only the click of a mouse away.

Chidlow videoed boys on a webcam
Chidlow videoed boys on a webcam

And the couple will be seeing the bride's parents later on when they visit Kiev for a church blessing.

"They couldn't come to the wedding so we thought we'd bring the wedding to them," said Mr Avis.

The Rev John Smith at Hoo parish church
The Rev John Smith at Hoo parish church

"We're going to have speeches on their behalf and a photo of them so my relatives know what they look like.

"The biggest issue has been the internet connection. It drops out all the time and I couldn't work out how to fix it.

"Then when I was in the church I found my mobile had full signal, so I've gone out and got a dongle and put about £50 of credit on it.

"It's an HD camera so as long as the mobile signal is strong and consistent enough it should be a very good picture."

The vicar who will conduct today's ceremony, the Rev John Smith, said: "It's certainly a first. I'm very pleased to do this for Alla and her parents and I hope the signal works."

The ceremony starts at 4pm and will be followed by a reception at the Hoo Village Institute.

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