TAKE FIVE: AL ROKER

Monday, July 23, 2007 | 7:09 a.m.

ILLUSTRATION BY CHRIS MORRIS

"Today " show weatherman Al Roker wanted to be a cartoonist.

"I still do some amateur cartooning," Roker said during a recent telephone call from New York.

He was excited about an interview he was going to do with "Simpsons" creator Matt Groening.

"And I got to interview ('Peanuts' creator) Charles Schulz a couple of times," Roker said. "I'm a big fan of the comic cartoon world. I never did it professionally. It was a hobby. But in college, at the end of my sophomore year, I got a job doing weekend weather in Syracuse, N.Y. , and I never looked back."

So, instead of being home drawing, he will be in Las Vegas on Tuesday with "Today " producers, taking part in a search for an engaged couple who will win a free wedding. Voting will take place online at todayshow.com Aug. 15 through 22.

The wedding will take place on the show Oct. 5 and will be featured in Martha Stewart Weddings magazine, co-producer of the event.

They will be at the Venetian's St. Mark's bridge, from 4 to 7 a.m., greeting entrants who eventually will be among those voted on by the show's fans for a royal wedding. Some of Tuesday's action will air live on "Today ."

The first 50 to show up at the bridge with application in hand will participate in a "Running of the Brides" - grabbing one of 50 wedding dresses provided by Filene's Basement.

So far 50,000 engaged couples have applied on the show's Web site.

Producers expect brides to start arriving at the Venetian about midnight.

Roker discussed the wedding plans.

Wedding bells

My involvement is I'm kind of helping find couples who eventually will compete for the wedding. We're starting in Las Vegas, then we move on to Miami and then Chicago and end up in New York. We're looking at as wide a swath of people as possible. Normally it's just all online, but this time we're going to get to meet some of the folks face-to-face as well as the online people.

What 's it all about

Meetings. Our producers are meeting with them. We're going to have them on camera. We're going to be talking with them. The first 50 who show up with a completed application get to run to get a free wedding gown. This is the first time we've done it this way. We're really excited about it. I think it has a lot of energy, a lot of face-to-face stuff.

Al's Vegas schedule

I come in Monday night (tonight). Do the show Tuesday morning, then we leave and head to Miami, then Miami to Chicago, then from Chicago to home. It's a busy, busy time. Not any time for gambling or catching any shows - not when you're working for the "Today " show.

Something new ...

A lot of people have copied this idea, which is why we change it up every year. Every year it's something different and we try to raise the bar and I think the way to raise that bar is to go out and actually meet the people. Everybody can do it online but here's a chance, in some great cities across America, for people to come and take part in this.

Something old ...

This is the eighth year the "Today " show has been doing this. We're usually just at the wedding site and take part in the different competitions. This will be the most I've been involved in it so far.