Weddings to be posted on justice's Web page

By Roy Wood, Post staff reporter

Justice of the Peace Steve Hoffman's cubbyhole of an office in downtown Covington is a long way from Silicon Valley. But that won't stop him from giving the weddings he performs a high-tech edge.

Hoffman officiates at 80 or so weddings a month. The services tend to be quick and private, often with no one present other than the happy couple, Hoffman and a couple of witnesses.

But just because they aren't there doesn't mean friends and family don't want to share the moment - which is where Hoffman and his new Web cam step in.

The camera will let Hoffman broad cast weddings worldwide on the Internet from his office at 331 Court St.

''I just noticed people coming in here and wishing, 'Gee, I wish someone could be here.' Maybe this is a tool that can help,'' Hoffman said.

Robert Horner and Coralee Glover - a Westerville, Ohio, couple whom Hoffman married last week - agreed.

''We have family all over the country,'' the new Mrs. Horner said, noting her family lives in North Carolina; her new in-laws in California and Indiana.

Hoffman expects to have his system in place within the next few weeks. Eventually, he wants to save the videos on his Web page so people can watch them after the wedding or download video onto their own computers.

He's not sure if he'll charge for the service. But if he does, the fee will be nominal - $5 or $10.

To officiate weddings in his office, he charges $65. He also does weddings away from his office for $125, although the Web cam won't go on the road with him.

Hoffman said he had been kicking around the wedding cam idea since he started building a Web page about a year ago. Still under construction, it doesn't yet have an address.

The system will be easy to use for would-be wedding-watchers, said the technician setting it all up. To watch a wedding, a viewer will simply have to call up Hoffman's page and click on a link, said Eric Shen of System Support associates in Edgewood.