WILMINGTON, Del. -- John Roehsler took his wedding vows, exchanged rings with his bride -- and turned to the webcam.

"Whoever's watching ... we're sorry that you couldn't be here," the groom said. "But you are here, so that's great. The 21st century rocks."

Roehsler and his bride, the former Neperthey Velasco, used a webcast to allow friends and family from roughly 10 states and a dozen countries to view their wedding ceremony live. It's a service now offered for weddings and funerals to allow far-flung family and friends to take part.

Wedding webcasts have been offered by a few companies for several years, and Las Vegas wedding chapels also market webcast ceremonies. But webcasting a wedding remains unusual; no couple has used the service in Virginia's Wise County, the first to acquire the technology in 2000, said Clerk of Court Jack Kennedy.

The Roehslers' June wedding was the first to use the wedding webcast capabilities in New Castle County, where the couple live. Their seven-minute ceremony included all the standard wedding prose, along with a few extras for the Web audience.

"John, please take Neperthey's ring, so the whole camera and everyone can see here," said Ken Boulden, clerk of the peace for New Castle County.

The wedding's intended online viewers included members of the bride's family in countries such as the Philippines and Thailand. But members of the groom's family watched online, too, because the wedding took place quickly under terms of the bride's visa. The couple also is expecting a baby in October.

"Our priorities shifted significantly," John Roehsler said. "Expecting a child when we entered a new country, we're both unemployed -- the grand ceremony was an afterthought at that point. We both wanted to get down to business."

Unfortunately, many international viewers saw only blank screens, possibly due to problems with Internet service providers, the groom said. Some in the U.S. also could not watch the ceremony because of firewalls on computer systems at their workplaces.

Boulden said his office doesn't have control over such issues.

"Out of three dozen tests in different countries around the globe ... we have only hit that problem two or three times," he said. "It's the exception; it's not the rule."

John Roehsler's cousin, Michele Leech, had no trouble watching the ceremony from Canton, Ga.

"It was almost like I was in the room with them," Leech said, noting a small delay in the audio. "The most special thing to me about it was not only seeing the couple getting married and the happiness that went with that, but also seeing some family that I haven't seen for years."

The Roehslers paid $30 for the webcasting service and $20 for a DVD of the ceremony.

Private companies typically charge $350 to $600 to webcast a wedding and archive it for 30 days of online viewing. All couples need is a video camera, a computer and Internet access. Asking a company to take care of videography and computers increases costs to up to $2,000, which may not include travel expenses.