A FORMER soldier who served in Afghanistan will showcase his new virtually reality wedding business.

Luke Woods, 49, from Bridport, has launched the new service which allows couples to share their special day up close with loved ones even if they are thousands of miles away, thanks to 360° interactive virtual reality (VR) video, meaning they can watch proceedings from several angles.

Mr Woods is no stranger to conducting romance at long distance, as he is preparing to marry his fiancée Jennifer Lloyd-Grey, who he met on a dating website while 5,000 miles away from her, in Canada.

The couple will showe off their VR service at the Bride on a Budget wedding fair in Bournemouth on Saturday (25).

Mr Woods said: “I’d always wanted to go into business as a professional photographer.

“So when I made the transition back into civilian life, the skills I’d built up doing this as a hobby really came into their own.”

He initially took a job working in IT, and after a stint helping Google Maps software, took the leap to set up on his own. It was while working on a Google project in Canada that Luke started chatting to Jenny on-line and when they met, Luke says he immediately knew she was “the one”.

He added: “It’s amazing what technology can do to connect people emotionally even though they are thousands of miles away.

“For me it is clear that VR video is the next visual evolution in how we see the world – you can see it with a VR headset – and on a mobile screen, it’s so easy – just play it and spin round and you are there."

His VR wedding videos are filmed using several specially built cameras and microphones at any one time, placed in strategic locations around the venue. This allows virtual guests to pan around the proceedings as the videos are playing, giving views from many angles and a feeling like you are in the room.

The Brides on a Budget wedding fair will take place at teh Sovereign Centre in Boscombe on Saturday (25) from 10am until 4pm.