An Epic Marriage Encounter

by: Tony "RadarX" Jones

While most news was focused on Blizzard actually offering expansion content more than once in 2 years, Fan Faire most certainly had something you couldn't find at Blizzcon. Alcohol, lots of it. Beyond that this was the first time in history an MMO couple tied the knot simultaneously in game and on stage in front of 1500 Fan Faire attendees. Who were these people, and how did they end up here in Las Vegas getting married? Ten Ton Hammer sat down with these two lovebirds to find answers to these questions.

src="http://media.tentonhammer.com/tth/gallery/albums/album384/SOE4_046.thumb.jpg"
style="margin: 5px; padding: 5px;" border="0">

Darth Vader begins the Procession

I grab a chair with Nathan and Kelly on Friday in their hotel room the day before the wedding. Nathan looks tired and from talking to him it appears he has been run around a little by SOE PR making sure everything is in place and they have what they need for the event. They both look just as normal as anyone else you would expect to play an MMO and be at a Fan Faire in Vegas (yes I qualified that). The most obvious question to ask is of course how all this got started. How do you end up getting married in front of the entire attendance of a Fan Faire Banquet?

Apparently while discussing Fan Faire, Nathan in passing mentioned while he was in town, he and Kelly were going to get married. EverQuest 2 Community Manager Craig "Grimwell" Dalrymple asked if they thought about doing it in costume. "One thing lead to another," Nathan says "and they wanted to marry us." Now this of course is a publishing dream. You have two players brought together by gaming (you reading this Jack Thomson?) who are merging their real lives with virtual ones.

Curiosity is killing me so I have to ask how much PR is really involved in the planning and execution. Nathan tells me "We pretty much picked the music, and the costumes, and the rings. They are doing everything else." Now while men everywhere might have a light bulb go off and try and hire PR people to do their wedding, make sure to ask the future spouse first. Kelly also mentions they've brought in a wedding planner from the Rio hotel where the event will be so it sounds like everything is in place. The real marriage got plenty of publicity but what about the in game portion?

src="http://media.tentonhammer.com/tth/gallery/albums/album384/SOE4_047.thumb.jpg"
style="margin: 5px; padding: 5px;" border="0">

This Quest is Hard

In game marriages used to be a big deal back in EQ1 where you'd see GM's at a ceremony and friends would show up en masse. Apparently tradeskill developer Emily "Domino" Taylor has taken the time to decorate Nathan's home as a chapel where everything will take place. A number of their guildmates will be in attendance that couldn't get to Fan Faire to see the wedding performed by a Senior Guide.

Getting married in front of 1500+ people would make anyone a little nervous. Kelly confides that she is "freaking out" a little but their families (who are non-gamers) have been really supportive and are even coming in for the wedding. Nathan appears to be fairly laid back and comfortable with everything happening but the men usually are. At the actual ceremony we were fortunate enough to sit up front and it would be hard to deny some amazing moments.

At the last wedding you attended who came down the aisle first? The groom and a few a groomsmen? How about Darth Vader with lightsaber raised, flanked by Stormtroopers? It was every geeks dream. Nathan appears moments later in a full suit of leather armor which he confides in private he can barely move in. As the crowd stands, Kelly comes down the aisle in a lovely veiled white dress and meets him at a small altar which has been built on stage.

The wedding itself was brief, lasting less than ten minutes and the in game ceremony even shorter. Their guildmates showed up to pelt them with snowballs after they were pronounced husband and wife and the chapel looked amazing. While Nathan and Kelly cut their wedding cake and enjoyed the banquet they had many come up to congratulate them.

This was truly one of the most unique things we'll see at a Con/Faire any time soon. We all wish Nathan and Kelly both good luck in their future and continued enjoyment of EverQuest 2.