For Better Or For Metaverse: Couple Weds In VR

REAL & VIRTUAL: Dinesh S P and Janaganandhini Ramaswamy, who will get married on February 6; (above) their Metaverse avatars; (below) the avatar of the bride’s late father

- Priya.Menon

On the first Sunday of February, as the sun breaks over a little village in Krishnagiri district, Dinesh S P and Janaganandhini Ramaswamy will tie the knot. Later, as dusk falls, the couple will get ready for the wedding reception. But instead of hopping into a decorated car, the duo will switch on their laptop and log onto a link that will take them to their virtual venue — the dining room of Hogwarts castle — where their avatars will meet and greet those of their loved ones logging in from across the world. And presiding over the function will be Janaganandhini’s late father’s avatar.

“I came up with the idea of having a Metaverse wedding reception, and my fiancée also liked the idea,” says Dinesh, a project associate at IIT Madras, whose marriage to software developer Janaganandhini will be held on February 6 in Sivalingapuram village.