Couple married in virtual reality: headset interferes with kiss

A Welsh couple, Elisa Evans and Martin Shervington, said "I do" in virtual reality. 40 guests attended the ceremony via VR headsets. Almost everything went perfectly. 

The fact that weddings sometimes involve a great deal of technical effort is not a new development. And strictly speaking, the first wedding ceremony in cyberspace took place back in 1994. However, the technology of 23 years ago is certainly not comparable with today's systems. A Welsh couple, Elisa Evans and Martin Shervington, said "I do" in virtual reality. The ceremony, which took place in May, highlighted the opportunities and limitations of the technology, as a report by the Time Magazine shows.

Wedding ceremony in the Futuristic Hall

The realisation was only possible because VR equipment has now become affordable. The couple spent around 2,5000 dollars on a suitable computer and a headset. They came up with the idea because they wanted to make the wedding a very personal experience. The VR realisation would give them the opportunity to relive this event again and again. They received help from Altspace VRa company owned by Microsoft since October that specialises in communication solutions for virtual reality. The company realised the virtual spaces: A futuristic hall with a disco ball and red lava billowing in the sky.

Confusion in the run-up

While 40 guests in the groom's flat watched the proceedings on the screen and took turns using VR headsets, the couple were in the Sunflower & I bar in Cardiff. There were witty speeches from the groom and bride, who had fallen in love a year earlier, mainly thanks to their shared sense of humour. They presented video clips from series, photos and anecdotes from their relationship, while the guests expressed their feelings with floating emojis.

The concept caused confusion in the run-up to the event. This was because some guests had had no contact with virtual reality beforehand. They thought that the couple would get married in robot disguises - in fact, the couple had decided to appear at the virtual wedding as robot avatars.

Second ceremony

Lisa Kotecki, Community Manager at Altspace from faraway San Francisco, was on site as an avatar for the cyber wedding ceremony and said "I do" to the couple. While the real-virtual ceremony went largely smoothly, the sealing kiss proved to be problematic. The clunky VR glasses got in the way. However, there was a second attempt, this time without any technology. After a virtual dance and fireworks, the guests finally made their way to the real location, which was set up in the style of the VR environment. There, the groom and bride also walked down the aisle "in real life". "We didn't see a sea of heart emojis, but we did see a lot of laughter," Shervington comments on his wedding ceremony. "We now have the memory of getting married virtually and in real life."

Switzerland was home to what was probably the world's first Marriage proposal in the VR in the VR Centre Dietlikon. And while we're on the subject, we can of course not forget the crazy Wedding rituals with avatars in Japan do not forget.

Source: The Standart