Air Force couple exchanges long-distance vows over webcam

ST. LOUIS -- Who says marriage is easy? Try getting married over a webcam.

A St. Louis-area couple stationed on opposite sides of the globe in the U.S. Air Force did just that Thursday night.

Senior Airman Katie Fields stationed at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois will have to wait to kiss her new husband, Staff Sgt. Fred Matney, stationed in South Korea.

The bride settled for a virtual kiss and smashing cake on a live big-screen TV version of her groom's face.

It was just as satisfying as the real thing, she said.

"I'm still shaking," Fields said after the ceremony. "It's done and I'm so happy. It was actually a lot of fun."

Thousands of miles separated them and even with a high-speed Internet connection, there was an unintentional delay between the words "I do."

Fields was in downtown St. Louis, the groom tuned in by webcam from South Korea bright and early Friday morning and a justice of the peace officiated from Montana.

Fields says Montana is one of the few states that lets a couple marry when neither is physically present. Proxies signed the license for them.

Fields, 24, and Matney, 28, met in May when both were stationed at Scott and call themselves "computer geeks" in the military.

Just weeks after they fell in love, they say, Matney had to be stationed in South Korea for a year.

They stayed connected and in love by phone, webcam and e-mail, however, and a group called the Freedom Calls Foundation, a military video conferencing service, made the special day a reality.

Everyone had to get used to the stuttering video, the echo and the time delay between in hearing one another's voice.

The only thing that made this wedding different was Fields and Matney were separated by 6,676 miles.

When it was time for a toast and photos, Fields cuddled up with the big-screen version of her groom.

In December, Matney returns for a less high-tech and more traditional ceremony in front of family and friends in Matney's home state of Ohio.

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Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch.