We’ve arrived at the era of the virtual reality check
So, there’s a relative and a friend (or 10) who live overseas and cannot turn up for your wedding. If your default solution is Zoom, sorry, there’s no delicate way to put it; you are unimaginative and living in 2020.
Get with the times and take it to the metaverse, just like Joanne Tham and Clarence Chan did. The couple, along with the team at The Alkaff Mansion, made their marks as the trailblazers behind Singapore’s first phygital wedding held last month.
Like Bennifer and Brangelina who came before, phygital looks set to become the next ‘it’ coupling to watch out for. What it is, is a merging of the physical and digital worlds, allowing the former to become less bound by the limitations of reality, and the latter to benefit from a touch of realism.
Working with Smobler Studios, a metaverse architecture and web3 design agency, The Alkaff Mansion team recreated the restaurant in the metaverse of The Sandbox, a gaming platform where players are allowed to build, own, and monetise their creations. While the couple’s physical wedding was a more conventional affair held in a hotel, the virtual version of the event was a groovy 70s disco party with the digital version of The Alkaff Mansion as a backdrop.
The stars of the metaverse wedding were – of course – the couple’s avatars, customised with their personalities and wedding outfits. The most important “supporting character” was the avatar of Sebastien Borget, The Sandbox’s co-founder and COO, who played solemniser at the virtual event.
While guests at the physical wedding watched on screen, the couple’s avatars were solemnised by Borget in the metaverse. Following that, they shared a kiss and made a virtual exit, returning the spotlight to the physical event.
Following this inaugural event, 1-Group, the parent company of The Alkaff Mansion, intends to continue partnering with Smobler Studios to make phygital events a permanent part of its offerings
As Loretta Chen, co-founder of Smobler Studios said, even the sky is no longer a limit with the open metaverse.
Space wedding, anyone?
