A Minnesota National Guardsman was able to virtually "kiss the bride" when he and his beloved were married yesterday. There were 6,000 miles between them, but they became one when they shared vows via video conferencing.

It is a technology that has brought our men and women in the armed forces home for moments at a time to witness special moments like seeing newborns for the first time, graduations, and other events.

It is also similar to technology that many Las Vegas chapels have been using for years to help couples who come in from town broadcast their weddings live to loved ones in other states.

Spc. Abraham Rhode and Amanda Hart were able to use video teleconferencing -- with the help of a Chaplain -- to be joined as husband and wife, according to the Associated Press. The bride was in Minnesota and the groom in Iraq.

This couple is apparently among a handful who have opted for marriage by video conference since the start of the war. They were able to arrange it when they discovered his deployment would be delayed, and they had a baby on the way.

They'd planned an August wedding, which he was due to come home and help plan, but they settled for official union via video conference. Hart said even so it was "was pretty exciting, overwhelming."