Friday, March 29

Virtual weddings: couples now celebrate their nuptials in the metaverse


For Hannah Perez

They say that love transcends physical boundaries, and no doubt for some it is. These lovers (or rather their avatars) seal their love in the metaverse.

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In 2020, after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the social isolation measures that followed, virtual weddings through video call platforms such as Zoom they became very popular.

Now, two years later, some couples continue to choose to celebrate their weddings virtually, even though most countries have lifted restrictions. Virtual weddings seem to be gaining strength again this 2022; but no longer for fear of contagion from the coronavirus, but in response to a recent technological trend: the metaverse.

Weddings in the metaverse

At the end of last year Traci and Dave Gagnon celebrated the first metaverse wedding. The couple had met over 5 years ago in the cloud, so holding a virtual ceremony made perfect sense to them. The wedding was held on the platform Virbela, specialized in creating virtual environments, where lovers (or rather their avatars) declared their union with a ‘yes’.

More recently, another couple has also chosen to celebrate their nuptials in a virtual environment. They are Dinesh SP and Janaganandhini Ramaswamy who at the beginning of the month celebrated a Harry Potter-themed wedding reception in the metaverse. The Indian couple held the event with the support of the startup TardiVerse, based on Blockchain, in an environment that simulated the magical castle of Hogwarts.

The groom shared a short video through Twitter where you can see how the aesthetics of the celebration were. Dinesh also claimed that theirs was the first Indian wedding to take place in the metaverse.

Metaverse weddings can have some advantages. Beyond the fact that social distancing does not exist in virtual worlds, couples can basically choose any place to celebrate their wedding: an island paradise, under the Eiffel tower in Paris or in a magical universe. There are no limits and even the most extravagant options -such as arriving in a rocket to the altar- are possible.

The same applies to the designs of the avatars, who do not suffer from ravings in their sizes or disheveled. For Ramaswamy, the benefit of celebrating her wedding in the metaverse was walking down the virtual altar accompanied by an avatar of her late father. My girlfriend’s father passed away last April, [aún así] will be there as a 3D avatar, blessing us in the MetaverseDinesh told a local media.

A report of New York Times published in December covers how some wedding planning agencies and other events are driving efforts to expand into the metaverse. Also platforms like Virbela They are working to offer more options for virtual celebrations such as graduations, bar mitzvahs and baptisms. Although the prices of these could be as high as an event in the physical world, since, depending on the characteristics, they can exceed USD $10,000.

For now, many of these celebrations are taking place in a hybrid way, since in most countries the laws are not yet up to date with the latest technological trends and it is not considered legal to marry in the metaverse.

Matrix or the metaverse life

The metaverse concept has garnered widespread attention ever since Facebook changed his name to Meta last year in an effort to focus his business on building a virtual world.

The latest technological craze promises to offer 3D spaces online where people can interact socially, buy virtual goods in the form of tokens non-expendable goods (NFT), play video games, go to concerts, have fun… Basically making life completely virtual through devices such as virtual reality headsets and other technologies.

A handful of big name brands, including Microsoft, Nike Y Samsung have begun to develop their own virtual experiences while an increasing number of people are also interested in these advances.

In fact, celebrating and participating in events in the metaverse seems to be becoming more and more common. In December, model and celebrity Hilton hotel heiress Paris Hilton held a New Year’s Eve party on her own metaverse island in Roblox. The star invited people to participate in the celebration, which included a concert where his avatar played the DJ.

Meanwhile, some companies have been quick to launch tokenized clothing collections, so avatars don’t lose face. glamour within virtual worlds, and some people buy virtual houses that are even more expensive than houses in the physical world.

With companies like Samsung opening a version of his iconic physical store in the metaverse and Disney working in a virtual theme park, everything points to the fact that in the not so distant future even the most everyday things, such as shopping at the market, will be experiences in virtual format; kind of like living in the simulated reality of Matrix. Are you ready to take the blue pill?


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Article by Hannah Estefanía Pérez / DailyBitcoin

Unsplash image edited in Canva

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