Following the example of a US couple which used virtual reality to get married last year, a pair of software engineers in Tamil Nadu have decided to be the first Indian couple to celebrate their wedding reception in Facebook's augmented reality known as Metaverse.
"I came up with the idea of having a Metaverse wedding reception, and my fiancée also liked the idea," says Dinesh Kshatriyan, a project associate at IIT Madras, in an interview to Times of India. His marriage to software developer Janaganandhini will be held on February 6 in Sivalingapuram village.
The couple have decided on a Harry Potter themed reception that will see them logging into a virtual venue that mimics the great Dining Hall in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Avatars of their loved ones, friends and family from across the world will be able to interact with them via avatars.
The virtual reception is a boon at a time when Covid-19 cases are increasing across India and guests for such events are limited, Dinesh tols TOI. In addition to this, the highlight of the reception will be the avatar of Janaganandhini's late father, which was created by Quatics Tech, the company which is helping them host the Metaverse reception.
Metaverse is a simulated digital environment that uses augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and blockchain, along with concepts from social media, to create spaces for rich user interaction mimicking the real world.
Vignesh Selvarajan of Quartics Tech said that the reception was an exciting chance to work with the Metaverse in conjunction with the company's development of "Tardiverse" for online socialising and gaming.
"I have been into crypto and blockchain technology, and have been mining ethereum, a form of cryptocurrency, for the last one year," says Dinesh. "Since blockchain is the basic technology of Metaverse, when my wedding was fixed, I thought of having a reception in Metaverse."
"We are accepting marriage gifts via Metaverse. Guests can transfer gift vouchers, or GPay, and we are also accepting cryptos as gifts," says Dinesh, adding that the only thing missing at the reception would be food.