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Traci and Dave Gagnon met in the cloud, so it only made sense for their wedding to happen in the cloud. On Labor Day weekend, they held a ceremony staged by the couple—more precisely, their digital avatars. Virbela, a company that creates virtual environments for work, learning, and events.
Ms. Gagnon’s avatar was walked down the aisle by her close friend’s avatar. Mr. Gagnon’s avatar watched as his friend’s avatar took the stage and made a toast. And the twin 7-year-old avatars (ring bearer and flower girl) danced at the reception.
How is the immersive virtual world known? metadata store, Which very few of us understand, will replace the traditional wedding, no one is predicting right now. But the possibilities of having an event freed by the limits of reality are interesting enough to consider.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, technology is being included in ceremonies more than ever before. zoom weddings has taken place and some face-to-face ceremonies include a livestream component for guests who may no longer be there. Last year, a couple whose wedding was canceled due to the pandemic staged an (illegal) demonstration. Ceremony at Animal Crossing, a popular video game.
While it’s like a ceremony within a video game, it’s important to be mindful of any wedding that takes place only in the metaverse. not now legal. (Even virtual weddings via video conferencing, which many states allow during the height of pandemic shutdowns, have since been banned. Banned in New York State and elsewhere.) Still, the metaverse will take these virtual celebrations much further and offer couples nearly limitless possibilities, according to experts.
“There are no limitations,” said its founder, Sandy Hammer. everywherecreating digital planning tools for weddings. The company invests in metadata by creating virtual versions of real-world venues, such as the Plaza Hotel in New York. “If you really want to do something different, you can let your creativity run wild in the metastore.”
Imagine if guests listed that number in the thousands. Gift records with feature NFTs, or non-tradable tokens. Maybe even destination weddings in space.
“They’re going to put their friends on a space rocket,” said Ms. Hammer, adding that she imagined wedding parties virtually traveling the world. “A bride can transport her guests to the metaverse: ‘I want my morning session to be in Italy and my evening session in Paris.’
Nathalie Cadet-JamesA wedding planner and designer based in Miami approaches the metaverse with an “exciting mind for beginners” and tries to anticipate how her role will change. “I think my role could be more like a producer or a film director,” said Ms. Cadet-James. “I can create a set that I’ve developed. Flowers may emerge from the ground as you walk into space. To that I would add whimsy and fantasy – because we could. ”
Of course, this will require the skills of a software engineer, which is not currently in any typical wedding budget.
The Gagnons had a kind of hybrid wedding. The couple married on September 4 at the Atkinson Resort & Country Club in New Hampshire, where they live, in a ceremony led by David Oleary, a friend and colleague commissioned by Universal Life Church, and simultaneously hosting a virtual ceremony. in Virbela.
For those who couldn’t be there in person, they broadcast their wedding live. Guests of the virtual ceremony attended via a computer, which required downloading the software and then creating an avatar.
Ms. Gagnon, 52, and Mr. Gagnon, 60, both work as agents. exp realty. The brokerage has embraced virtual work and metadata and is part of eXp World Holdings, which also owns Virbela.
The avatars met in 2015 at a company event in Las Vegas before the couple met face-to-face. Colleagues when they announced their engagement in 2019 Offers to turn Virbela’s cloud campus into a wedding venue, it’s free. (Ms. Gagnon estimated it would cost around $30,000 if they paid for it; Virbela representatives declined to reveal a price for the event.)
The Gagnons sent pictures of themselves and their wedding decor to Virbela’s events team and software engineers, who incorporated personalized details such as bird of paradise flowers and images of their face-to-face venue into the virtual ceremony.
“They were able to take my wedding dress and customize it and take a little flower halo and put it in my hair,” said Ms. Gagnon.
Patrick Perry, director of event sales and partnerships for Virbela, said the cost of hosting an event in the metadata “depends on what you want”, “if there’s an engineer building an MGM ballroom or something of that nature, then the cost goes up.” It goes from a few thousand dollars to over 10,000 dollars.
However, Mr. Perry said as the metaverse builds, “there will be more plug-and-play assets.” Wedding couples will be able to choose from pre-designed venues, flowers, tables, dresses, musical entertainment and other elements.
Virbela is designed to be an immersive platform for organizations to host events and build a sense of community in the metadata. But users have asked the company to host graduations, bar mitzvahs, weddings and other celebrations. Mr. Perry said Virbela has recently started exploring the wedding market and is in the planning stages with several couples.
Ms. Hammer said Allseated is not yet working with a couple who are only interested in having a wedding that will take place in the metaverse. In addition to the legality of such a ceremony, a hybrid event like the Gagnons is “much more in demand and realistic,” he said, “because couples want both in-person and virtual experiences.”
For Ms. Gagnon, who hired two cameramen, one to capture the event face-to-face, and the other to simultaneously broadcast the ceremony to the cloud, the main purpose of the metastore item was the connection it offered.
The sick maid of honor was able to walk him down the aisle, albeit virtually. Mr. Gagnon’s friend, who was unable to attend because his wife had pre-existing health problems, may also have a toast. The experience of acting as an avatar in a virtual world – a kind of idealized version of yourself – creates a more immersive, emotionally satisfying experience than Zoom, Ms. Gagnon said.
“There’s a different level of connectivity,” he said with Metaverse.
Being a Metaverse bride had other benefits as well. “I’m always a size 4, even in January,” said Ms. Gagnon with a laugh. “And I’ve never had a bad hair day.”
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