Talking about 2350 B.C. when the first marriage was recorded, there was a simple vow change irrespective of place, people and societal standards. Gradually, it turned out to be a $300 billion industry encompassing myriad aspects like decor, planning, photography, and space and now, the future is weddings in what we call ‘Metaverse.’
Unfettered by the bounds of reality, stirred by the flames of the pandemic, the concept of metaverse weddings is an extended wing of Zoom weddings and live streaming. Couples in India and the U.S. made headlines months ago as their avatars, fictional representations of a person in the virtual world, tied the knot.
What are Metaverse Weddings?
Metaverse is a virtual 3D environment where users can ‘live’ and interact with others through digital avatars. It combines multiple elements of technology like augmented reality, blockchain and virtual reality.
Metaverse weddings include a virtual venue designed by a virtual space designer. Couples can invite guests, who they could not accommodate in the real setting, to celebrate their nuptials on the cloud. The bride and the groom’s avatars can be customized and even the wedding dress can be made to look like the real people on their special day. The avatars can dance and interact with other avatars too.
Pocket Pinch
The cost of a wedding in Metaverse starts from $500 and can go up to $50,000. These digital weddings approximately last an hour and the cost of designing and developing also depends on the digital venue, decor, theme, guest participation and outfits of the avatars that can be customized as per preferences.
Legality
To be clear, two humans cannot legally get married in the metaverse—but it appears that weddings there are now a thing. It has to be accompanied by a legal wedding. Experts say that it is likely to catch up in the future. Given that the current law on marriage is substantially old in a lot of countries, we wonder how long it will take to move the dial from the garden gazebo to avatar brides and just how much technology and social mores will have moved on in the meantime?
Advantages & Disadvantages
Feel like wearing a princess costume and riding a unicorn at your wedding? How about passing out NFTs as a party favor for your 10,000 guests? Everything is possible during a metaverse ceremony. Your fantasy can come alive, be it a beach setting, mountain or even Venus!
Another upside: it’s a destination wedding everyone can get to—as long as they have internet access. Couples can host the ceremony from anywhere in the world, and build a limitless guest list. Grandma cannot travel? Well, that’s not a problem here!
The experience of moving through a virtual world as an avatar — a kind of idealized version of yourself — creates a more immersive, emotionally satisfying experience than Zoom. Brides are loving the concept of being a digital bride! You can be a size 4 always and never have a bad hair day!
It’s a lot cheaper than exchanging vows at any luxury hotel. It depends upon the creation of an avatar if you don’t already have one. Cost-conscious, tech-oriented couples will be the first to readily adopt such ceremonies.
Of course, if you want to be conspicuous about your consumption in the metaverse, the sky’s the limit. Virtual brides can now purchase a Dolce & Gabbana tiara for $300,000 or a PUMA digital wedding dress for 1 ether, or about $3,400.
This highly tech-focused world comes with its own challenges. Technical glitches can come up interrupting the ceremony or avatars not moving. If there are more people joining, the server may overload and even crash.
What Does The Future Look Like?
Transcending space & time- Many high hotel chains are reportedly opening up their presence in Decentraland. Virtual design companies like Virbela are creating virtual versions of real-world event spaces like the Plaza Hotel in New York. As long as the law is concerned, there may well come a stage where the law is updated to evolve alongside virtual life
If you really want to do something different, in the metaverse you might as well let your creativity go wild. Destination wedding in space? Want your morning session to be in Italy and your evening session in Australia?
All Images via: @google
