Real couple gets married in the metaverse

The Future. Dave and Traci Gagnon, a couple that originally met as their avatars during a virtual event, hosted a wedding in the metaverse. The wedding ceremony, which was hosted by the virtual environment company Virbela, recreated the experience from their in-person wedding with avatars designed to match their wedding-day looks.

Metaverse firsts
The metaverse continues to take over aspects of our lives that were once reserved for in-person:

• ComplexLand brought famed streetwear festival ComplexCon to a virtual space.
• Gucci Garden on Roblox allowed guests around the globe to virtually experience the fashion house’s Florence installation.
• TIME magazine is launching a newsletter that lives in the metaverse.

Facebook’s rebrand as Meta hints at large strides in the near future for the metaverse.

Will virtual ‘I do’s” go mainstream?
Metaverse marriages are not yet legally recognized. Still, there are strong implications for the future of weddings and the more general future of live events in virtual spaces. Since the pandemic began, people have been finding more creative, safe, and non-space-dependent ways to say “I do” — from more intimate home and destination weddings to elopements and the Covid-infamous “Zoom wedding.”

And now, the metaverse offers a way for a more personalized way to build communities and share special moments with loved ones from around the globe.