Metaverse continues to gain prevalence and popularity as the world witnessed its first Meta-Marriage on 5th February 2022.
Ryan and Candice Hurley from Phoenix, Arizona, have become the world’s first couple to get married in the Metaverse. The couple decided to take their big wedding day virtual and tied the knot with their virtual identities in what was the first meta-marriage. The exceptionally immersive wedding ceremony took place in the Rose Law Group’s estate in the Decentraland. The event took place in the presence of witnesses, more than a couple of thousand guests, and also a Supreme Court Justice officiant Clint Bolick.
For their wedding day, the bride and the groom chose the Rose Law Group to legally hold and formalize their ceremony. Jordan Rose, the head of the legal group stated how this is the first virtual wedding that is taking place on a blockchain-based metaverse platform. Rose also added that as the Metaverse is still in its infancy, the firm has created a legal paradigm for a legally identified marriage. Also, the essential model for executing the wedding has been determined by the Group, assuring the recognition.
How was the Legal framework Followed?
The ceremony took place in a decentralized marriage framework. In this context, the prenuptial agreement is created that specifies all the couple’s digital assets. Not just this but the meta-marriage license also digitally identified, recorded, and tokenized the identities of the couple and the virtual marriage venue on the blockchain as NFT. However, their no legal explanation of the marriage in the metaverse, and hence, it is yet not possible to say if this marriage will hold a legal status or not. Rose further explained, due to no specified legal framework for metaverse-marriage, the legal binding is more a question of the contract.
The Big Day of the Arizona Couple
The couple, Ryan and Candice hosted their dream wedding by bringing various digital aspects to life over an immersive 3D venue in the Metaverse. They also invited a large number of 2000 guests and arranged gifts that were paid in the form of NFT. However, although the event was one of its kind it had its own difficulties and drawbacks.
What Went Wrong?
Even after Rose’s assurances about the legal aspects of the wedding, many legal experts are still unconvinced with the concept. Although the event was held over innovative & advanced blockchain technology, the wedding ceremony faced technical issues. To begin with, Decentraland struggled to handle the number of guests on the platform. In addition, depending on the event attendees’ server type, the bride’s digital character was either wearing a dress, a hoodie, or in some instances, was not even visible. Due to this situation, many guests had to go to the Rose Group’s Instagram handle where the couple live-streamed their wedding. Another fact to consider is, American Marriage Ministries says, concerned parties should appear as their physical selves and not as their virtual counterparts to proceed with their legal wedding ceremony. Similarly, most U.S. states don’t even permit couples to marry by an officiant in their remote presence through a video conference. All in all, the world is stepping towards the digital universe and there is still a lot to explore!
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