Doe-eyed Rinaz Bijoux met hunky Cartridge Partridge four years ago. They fell in love and got hitched.
Yesterday, Ms Marina Noordin, 31, and Mr Roberto D'Andrea, 45, held a traditional Malay wedding dinner for family and friends at a void deck in Taman Jurong. They met four years ago.
The two couples are actually one and the same. Their first marriage was made on Second Life, the popular virtual world. 'Rinaz' is Ms Marina's avatar, or virtual character, while 'Cartridge' is Mr D'Andrea's.
Yesterday's wedding feast was a full circle of sorts for the Singaporean and the Italian: They have now crossed the threshold separating the virtual world and real life.
Although the dinner, with some 300 guests who included about 50 bloggers and Facebook friends in attendance, was held yesterday, the couple's special day is actually Dec 18.
Last Thursday, four years to the day they tied the knot on Second Life, they were married in a mosque here.
Their wedding celebration at the void deck of Ms Marina's home yesterday was less subdued. A dikir barat troupe was hired to entertain guests, while the bride and groom were kept busy posing for photographs. Mr D'Andrea's father, sister and nieces from Italy attended the wedding.
Ms Marina is believed to be one of the first Singaporeans to say 'I do' on Second Life.
Her romance with Mr D'Andrea was featured in a Sunday Times Special Report on April 20 about the lives of Singaporeans in the virtual world.
Yesterday , a live webcast of the event was simultaneously streamed on Ms Marina's blog, Rinaz.net, so that friends from all over the world could join in the celebrations on Second Life.
As well-wishers at the dinner recorded happy greetings onto Ms Marina's computer, others munched on cupcakes specially decorated with their cartoon avatars.
In real life, Mr D'Andrea is a software programmer. Ms Marina has worked as a multimedia educator.
Four years ago, as go-getter Cartridge Partridge, he fell in love with the 'simple elegance' of the long-limbed Rinaz Bijoux. She caught his eye in the sandbox, where Second Life newbies go to learn about the virtual world's set-up. He pursued her everywhere she went. She fell for him, too.
Before long, they were saying 'I do' in a simple civil ceremony on Second Life on Dec 18, 2004, exactly one month after they met. They bought a prime piece of land in the virtual space and built a multi-storey house, complete with a rose garden, a fountain and a pet cat.
Over the next four years, they spent over $500 - converted into virtual money - in gifts to each other, such as clothing and accessories.
They also spent long hours catching up with one another via a webcam or MSN Messenger, social networking sites Facebook and Plurk, and text messages.
Once a year, they took turns visiting each other in Singapore and Rome.
Like any long-distance relationship across time zones, there were the occasional lovers' spats. She wondered if the relationship was sustainable.
'But we both had strong feelings for each other and wanted to further the relationship. We wanted to make it work,' Ms Marina said. 'I could see that he'll make a devoted husband who treats people kindly, which is very important to me.'
To show his sincerity, Mr D'Andrea, formerly an agnostic, converted to Islam in December last year. Last Thursday, the couple solemnised their marriage at the Assyakirin Mosque in Jurong.
The thrilled bride told The Sunday Times yesterday: 'Four years ago, it never occurred to me that we would get married for real.'
Next month, Ms Marina will pack her bags and move to Rome to live with her husband in a two-bedroom apartment there.
Their avatars will still romance each other on Second Life, but they can now look forward to doing simple real-life things together.
'We can finally shop together as a couple and have dinner together,' she said.
casschew@sph.com.sg
This story was first published in The Sunday Times on 21 December 2008.
