In today’s day and age almost everything can be done online. One of the online activities some couples are now engaging in is cyber weddings. There are already several virtual wedding chapels online in which couples can get married without all the planning and activity that goes into a traditional wedding. The main catch seems to be that any cyber wedding is going to be nonbinding, meaning it is a symbolic ceremony that joins two people together but doesn’t make them married in the eyes of the law.
There are now cyber chapels that allow couples to sit at home and have their ceremony performed by a vicar, through a webcam. While couples who live in the same town sometimes have a cyber -wedding, it is more common among long distance couples.
Some cyber chapels are self -serve chapels, meaning they are not monitored by anyone and there is no way to speak with or see a vicar during the cyber wedding. These cyber chapels tend to have chat rooms in which family and friends of the marrying couple can virtually witness the reading of the vows.
In the traditional sense, cyber weddings are not here and they may never be. To most people, getting married is a big deal and something they have waited a long time for. Even if the day comes when couples can have legally binding cyber weddings it is not likely that the majority of engaged couples will choose this option.
Weddings are something that almost everyone takes seriously and the idea of a cyber- wedding somewhat makes a mockery of the sacredness of marriage. For this reason alone there may be too much opposition to it to have a cyber-wedding ever be the norm.
Couples that want to declare their love for each other but don’t want to or can’t be legally married can still express their love for each other. Cyber-weddings may help them express that love, but not in the kind of face to face situation that any wedding calls for.
The idea of a cyber -wedding often appeals more to very young couples who just want to have some fun and get caught up in a fantasy world than it does to older more mature couples that are truly in love.
Since cyber-weddings are not legally binding, anyone with access to the Internet can officiate one. As a result, it would be hard to regulate this type of wedding in order to make it legally binding. That being said, cyber-weddings will probably continue to be something that is talked about but not actually practiced.
Couples can often compromise by having a traditional wedding but posting photos and videos on the Internet throughout their big day. To those watching from afar, the experience could be likened to a cyber- wedding.
Experts in the wedding industry seem to have no plans to branch out into cyber-weddings, one of many indications that they will probably never be something that couples will want.
About the Author
Claire Davies is a former wedding planner turned blogger who contributes to several well-known publications across the internet. Her primary work can be seen on the Wedding Day Sparklers website where she manages the blog offering wedding advice and tips to those who are in need. If you would like here to write about a specific topic, you can contact her that that site.
