Etterbeek first to offer video streaming of weddings

Couples who get married in Etterbeek can choose to have their wedding ceremony video-streamed live online, which the municipality claims to be a Belgian first.

The service, which costs just €10, allows relatives and friends to take part in a couple's big day from abroad, or from their hospital bed or care home.

A single fixed camera has been set up in a corner of the weddings room to discreetly film the ceremony. It has proved popular so far with international couples, where half of the family lives on the other side of the world.

Patrick Lenaers, the Etterbeek local councillor in charge of marriages, told RTBF: "Since we started, many other municipalities have called us to know how we managed it technically, but also from a legal point of view. I'm sure this will catch on elsewhere in Belgium."