Online Wedding

Something most often seen in massively multiplayer online role-playing games, Online Weddings date all the way back to the beginning of online communities. Two people who wish their avatars, or characters, to be married will create an event that resembles a standard wedding. This became very popular with the introduction of Ultima Online which not only provided rings, outfits and decorations, but sometimes offered Gamemasters to officiate. This tradition has carried forward into several other MMORPGs and virtual communities.

It is interesting to note that in many cases the participants do not know each other outside the virtual community. Some couples may not even know each other's true name, gender, etc. Some do, in fact, extend this union outside the virtual, but many don't. Many same-sex couples will celebrate a real-life union in this way.

Sometimes virual weddings are performed because the couple is genuinely in love, and wish to express that love in a public way.

There does not appear to be any legal recognition for such "virtual" marriages. Some couples have joined in what appear to be legally binding unions through other mediums such as instant messengers or video conferencing. These ceremonies are presided by the same appropriate officials and witnesses needed for a standard union. Some of these unions occur across state or even national borders.

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