Digital marriage

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A digital marriage occurs when two people who have no connection outside their gaming lives come together within a video game to do, within this virtual community, what they feel that they cannot accomplish within real life. Generally such marriages are considered to be a pleasant fantasy, rather than a legally binding ceremony.

Sometimes, however, this digital marriage extends to real life. In some instances, real life couples actually first meet within a video game setting, then meet physically face to face, and then choose to marry in the manner in which they had first met. Weddings such as these are completely legitimate, as long as a legally qualified official marries the couple. Depending upon the jurisdiction in which the couple are physically present, such an official may be a judge, a priest, or other civil or religious authority.

It is a popular occurrence in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games.

Real life relatives are seldom present at the ceremony, and the audience usually consists of other friends that the couple met within the game's community. Parties after the ceremony will usually take place within the gaming world, although some persons have also chosen to hold parties in real life.

On rare occasions, people will marry before meeting face to face, and such a wedding is called a Proxy Wedding, where the bride and groom are represented in real life by other representatives, and is not recognized by most jurisdictions.