Bengaluru-based entrepreneur Jaichander Ramesh, founder and CEO of Sarcon, has not rested since the pandemic started. The company has been active hosting virtual events. They recently helped a couple host a 3D virtual wedding, and in full attendance were friends and family from across the globe.
The new technology gave the couple and the guests a real feel of being at a physical wedding. Jaichander talks to Metrolife about how he created the 3D virtual wedding atmosphere and lets us in on the technology.
What inspired you to come up with such a feature?
Sarcon has been in the event technology space since 2017. We used our technology for physical events. We were recently approached by the parents of a soon-to-wed couple, who was based in Australia, and the parents were in India. They weren`t able to travel to the wedding during the pandemic. A virtual wedding was the only option.
The most common way to go about this would be to do this on Zoom as a simple video conference, but doing a “once in a lifetime” event this way would have been a pity. So, we extended our efforts and tested 3D virtual events platform to host a wedding. We created an immersive and engaging 3D environment and recreated every aspect of a wedding to give the family an experience they would cherish a lifetime.
Does it take away the charm of being physically present at a wedding?
Nothing can replace being physically present at a wedding, but we have used cutting edge technology to make sure that the virtual experience is as close to the physical event. One of the best compliments we received was from the bride’s grandmother, who said that it was the first time in decades that all the family members were present and able to take part in a family wedding. They had guests from North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. It is unlikely that all of them could have made it to the wedding. Right from hosting the Sangeet, creating a traditional virtual mandap to host the wedding ceremony to creating multiple avenues for relatives and friends to socialise with each other, we had covered it all.
Tell us about the 3D format.
A 3D virtual wedding is basically a 3D immersive environment that tries to recreate a physical wedding. To begin with, you will receive an electronic invitation card that has your unique login passcode to the event. You have to log in on the big day and enter the venue that is designed as per the family’s request. At the venue, you are first welcomed by the parents of the couple in the virtual lobby. You can later head to the virtual photo booth for a few pictures with the couple. There’s a wish wall for you to post your wishes too.
After this, you can head to the auditorium where you can witness the wedding ceremony in a traditional mandap. You can have elders and relatives coming on stage, and blessing the couple while the rest of the attendees watch.
What were the challenges involved in creating this platform?
An events platform is a very complex piece of software that has hundreds of features and sub-features that are used in different types of events. The challenge here is to keep the platform stable and to make it simple and intuitive for the users.