Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Saturday
Love By Videophone: Soldier's Wedding Hook-Up
Aired February 14, 2004 - 12:55 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KELLI ARENA, CNN ANCHOR: This Valentine's Day a story that proves that love has no boundaries. A soldier in Afghanistan just couldn't wait to return stateside to marry his fiancee. So they got hooked up by an Internet hookup.
Reporter Jack Thurston with affiliate WCAX has the story from Vermont.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome, everyone.
JACK THURSTON, WCAX CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Joanne Packer's wedding had it all.
JOANNE PACKER, BRIDE: Oh, they were all crying.
THURSTON: Friends and family.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please uncover the ring.
THURSTON: A beautiful ring.
PACKER: I promise to love you and sustain you.
THURSTON: And even more beautiful vows.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That you may know joy and peace together.
THURSTON: But Joanne's wedding was missing something.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I don't know how well you can see her over there.
THURSTON: The groom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have done weddings in many different places but never in two places at once.
Lee and Joanne.
THURSTON: Chaplain Charles Pourington (ph) married Joanne and Lee Ensalada via Internet hookup. He's a surgeon with the National Guard stationed in Afghanistan.
LEE ENSALADA, GROOM: In sickness and in health. THURSTON: Best man, Jack Mosher, told the bride about the first time Lee ever showed him her picture.
LT. COL. JACK MOSHER, VT. NATIONAL GUARD: And I said, Well, who's this beautiful woman with the such a wide smile? And he said, oh, that's the love of my life. My best friend.
THURSTON: But when it came time for Joanne to move from friend to wife...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will you have Joanne to be your wife? If so, please answer, I will.
THURSTON: The longest 20-seconds of her life began. The computer connection hit a snag, freezing lee's image on the monitor. Then, his voice crackled through the room's stunned silence.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lee?
L. ENSALADA: I will.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Joanne, will you have Lee to be your husband?
PACKER: I will. I will. I will. I love you.
THURSTON: At the reception...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was a reason for today.
THURSTON: Two reasons to celebrate. The groom's wedding day is also his birthday.
JOANNE ENSALADA, NEW BRIDE: It's not logical or pragmatic or conventional in any way. But it just fit us perfectly.
THURSTON: The urgency of war made Joanne want to tie the knot sooner rather than later.
J. ENSALADA: And I think the people that get this just saw the passion and the romance and, you know, kind of the heart's need for this.
THURSTON: Two hearts united despite a dangerous divide. Joanne Packer, now Joanne Ensalada, can't wait until she can hug her new husband. He's due home this summer.
J. ENSALADA: It's lonely.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trust the spirit of God to make this a wonderful marriage, as well.
THURSTON: Jack Thurston, reporting for CNN, in Colchester, Vermont.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ARENA: Aw. You have to say that.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired February 14, 2004 - 12:55 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KELLI ARENA, CNN ANCHOR: This Valentine's Day a story that proves that love has no boundaries. A soldier in Afghanistan just couldn't wait to return stateside to marry his fiancee. So they got hooked up by an Internet hookup.
Reporter Jack Thurston with affiliate WCAX has the story from Vermont.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome, everyone.
JACK THURSTON, WCAX CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Joanne Packer's wedding had it all.
JOANNE PACKER, BRIDE: Oh, they were all crying.
THURSTON: Friends and family.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please uncover the ring.
THURSTON: A beautiful ring.
PACKER: I promise to love you and sustain you.
THURSTON: And even more beautiful vows.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That you may know joy and peace together.
THURSTON: But Joanne's wedding was missing something.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I don't know how well you can see her over there.
THURSTON: The groom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have done weddings in many different places but never in two places at once.
Lee and Joanne.
THURSTON: Chaplain Charles Pourington (ph) married Joanne and Lee Ensalada via Internet hookup. He's a surgeon with the National Guard stationed in Afghanistan.
LEE ENSALADA, GROOM: In sickness and in health. THURSTON: Best man, Jack Mosher, told the bride about the first time Lee ever showed him her picture.
LT. COL. JACK MOSHER, VT. NATIONAL GUARD: And I said, Well, who's this beautiful woman with the such a wide smile? And he said, oh, that's the love of my life. My best friend.
THURSTON: But when it came time for Joanne to move from friend to wife...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will you have Joanne to be your wife? If so, please answer, I will.
THURSTON: The longest 20-seconds of her life began. The computer connection hit a snag, freezing lee's image on the monitor. Then, his voice crackled through the room's stunned silence.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lee?
L. ENSALADA: I will.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Joanne, will you have Lee to be your husband?
PACKER: I will. I will. I will. I love you.
THURSTON: At the reception...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was a reason for today.
THURSTON: Two reasons to celebrate. The groom's wedding day is also his birthday.
JOANNE ENSALADA, NEW BRIDE: It's not logical or pragmatic or conventional in any way. But it just fit us perfectly.
THURSTON: The urgency of war made Joanne want to tie the knot sooner rather than later.
J. ENSALADA: And I think the people that get this just saw the passion and the romance and, you know, kind of the heart's need for this.
THURSTON: Two hearts united despite a dangerous divide. Joanne Packer, now Joanne Ensalada, can't wait until she can hug her new husband. He's due home this summer.
J. ENSALADA: It's lonely.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trust the spirit of God to make this a wonderful marriage, as well.
THURSTON: Jack Thurston, reporting for CNN, in Colchester, Vermont.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ARENA: Aw. You have to say that.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
