The Spark of an Idea: How VOWs Was Born to Bridge Distances

Nearly eight years after establishing Virtual Online Weddings & Renewal of Vows (VOWs), the world's first commercial online marital service, I'm excited to finally launch this blog! For my inaugural post, I wanted to share the background story – the inspiration and the initial steps in creating VOWs.

The year was 2016. By that time, I had already had the honor of officiating approximately 1,700 in-person wedding ceremonies on the beautiful tropical island of Phuket, Thailand. As many know, Phuket is a premier global wedding destination, boasting an array of luxury hotels, private villas, and professional wedding agencies dedicated to fulfilling the dreams of couples seeking a wedding in paradise.

However, conducting these beautiful ceremonies was always a cherished side endeavor to my primary focus: running corporate team-building programs for DreamTeam Adventures Co. Ltd., a company I founded in Phuket back in 2003.

Returning to 2016, I found myself increasingly weary of the volatility inherent in the travel and tourism sector. Our business had weathered numerous storms, from tsunamis and global financial crises to international conflicts and, within Thailand, multiple coups d'état and periods of intense domestic political unrest.

This experience ignited a desire within me to establish a service-oriented business that would be more resilient to global uncertainties. I was also driven by a strong urge to create something entirely novel, a significant challenge in today's rapidly evolving business landscape.

Good ideas were proving elusive, until a conversation with my nephew, Jerem, who at the time was stationed at a US Army base in Seoul, South Korea.

South Korea presents a particularly demanding environment for US military personnel. It's a serious posting characterized by a consistently elevated threat level compared to many other US bases worldwide.

During our conversation, Jerem shared insights into the daily realities for himself and his fellow soldiers. He mentioned the extraordinarily high divorce rate within US bases in South Korea, a stark consequence of the immense stress they faced.

Undoubtedly, living thousands of miles away from a spouse and children places a significant strain on any relationship, a burden amplified when coupled with the pressures of working in a high-tension zone near the volatile border between South and North Korea.

Hearing this from my nephew was a pivotal moment, and the proverbial light bulb went on: "I'm an experienced wedding celebrant," I thought, "perhaps I can create an online renewal of vows service using Skype (the dominant platform at the time) to help couples reconnect, to remind them of their sacred promises, and to strengthen their emotional bonds despite the physical distance."

The more I contemplated this idea, the more enthusiastic I became about bringing it to life. While I knew I couldn't guarantee the preservation of every marriage, the possibility of saving even a few felt profoundly worthwhile. This initial inspiration, sparked by a desire to support those separated by duty, laid the foundation for what would become Virtual Online Weddings.