Chennai: Creating history, a bride and groom from Tamil Nadu on Sunday threw India’s first wedding reception on the Metaverse, an online universe of interconnected 3D virtual worlds. Bringing technology and tradition together, Dinesh S P and Janaganandhini Ramaswamy, who are both Potterheads, got married on February 6th in Tamil Nadu’s Sivalingapuram village, but their Hogwarts-themed wedding reception took place in the metaverse. Dinesh is a software developer and a blockchain and NFT enthusiast, while Jaganandhini is an engineer - Meet Dinesh Kshatriyan, Man From India's First Metaverse Marriage, Reveals What Made Him Go For It; Watch EXCLUSIVE Interview

The couple set up a Hogwarts-themed metaverse for the reception with help from a tech start-up called TardiVerse. The couple’s virtual avatars met guests in the metaverse venue, with the event being presided over by the avatar of the bride’s late father. The couple had also sent invitations to friends and family around the world in the form of non-fungible tokens, or NFTs.

Photos and videos from the metaverse wedding reception have gone viral on social media, intriguing users.  One of the videos features a musical concert that was conducted through metaverse from Chennai.



See the video here:

“I am into Blockchain, NFTs, and technology for the past few years. I used to be always unique and I wanted to keep my life event as a memorable one. As a techie, we always look into the problems and see the possible solutions through programming languages,” Dinesh was earlier quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

The idea for the wedding came after several Covid-19 restrictions were imposed in Tamil Nadu. “Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I had to cap the number of friends and family at 100 for my marriage and reception. So, I decided to solemnize my marriage in the presence of a small group of people at Sivalingapuram and hold my reception virtually on metaverse. I was also working on blockchain technology for the past one year,” Dinesh told The New Indian Express.



What is Metaverse?

The metaverse is a virtual reality platform that uses augmented reality, 3D holographic avatars and videos for social interactions. Users can meet and connect with each other digitally through unique avatars. Metaverse creates rich user engagement by combining augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), blockchain, and social media principles.