IDWN Vol 2. Iss. 4 by I Do Wedding Network

Cover

THANK YOU to our friends AND AMAZING CONTRIBUTORS

Pac LoreďŹ eld Editor-in-Chief IDWN Founder

Hitcher Post

Creative Director IDWN Manager

Serbon Cobalt Founding Member IDWN Manager

Fashion Director IDWN Co-Founder

Emma Portilo

Henri Mckeenan

Gunthor Allen

Netera Landar

Contributor Editor IDWN Member

Contributor IDWN Member

Photographer IDWN Member

Marla Marx

Contributor IDWN Member

CONTENTS

MARCH & APRIL | VOLUME 2 | NO. 4

11 17 23 29 35

Cover designed by Pac Lorefield | Inside Cover Photos by Autumn Capelo see the special feature on pg. 23 for the full story on these engagement photos.

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A LETTER from the EDITOR

“Um, what’s your name again?” Branding is such a peculiar beast. To succeed in branding, you must understand the needs and wants of your customers and prospects. In Second Life, the same idea is fostered by many business owners who invest their time and sometimes rl money into their shops, club, and venues. Beyond a pretty logo and store front, branding becomes it is how your customers identify you and connect with you. Over the past year, it has been great to see how The I Do Wedding Network has grown among fans and followers. Our members have helped us thrive with our identity to provide the best customer service to our wedding businesses as well as the brides and grooms who come looking for help to plan their special day. With that in mind, I recently decided to change our logo to reflect who we have become and how we are recognized. I wanted to make sure with the update of our logo and branding, that we didn’t completely lose connection with our roots. Hence, I made sure to keep the mint green from our original logo, combining it with our initials, which we are more formally known by, and the heart to show what holds it all together. On top of this change, I have been busy getting ready for the 2014 I Do Wedding Expo. We have many past sponsors and vendors returning to showcase the best of their business. The 2 week long event will be packed with live music, expo wide hunt, as well as new events including a fashion show. This year will prove to be our biggest yet! If you are interested in participating we have a few vendor spots remaining. Contact me in-world for more information! ‘til next time! Pac Lorefield, founder of IDWN

Happy Spring, wedding lovers! In this issue, we find the cause and cure of Spring Fever!

Dear Henri, What is spring fever? I think I have it. I feel giddy, sleepy and almost euphoric. For the first time in months I am interested in dating again. What’s going on? Sincerely, Giddy in Galveston Dear Giddy, You are absolutely onto one of the great mysteries of our species. Spring is the time for nature to awaken - grass begins to grow; rich, green leaves cover the winter-naked trees, and flowers of all color and variety bloom and grow as if by magic. Animals that have hibernated during the cold begin to awaken, and they are hungry (for food and other things)! You, as a human, are not unlike the mammals that have hunkered down and slept through snow, wind and frigid temperatures. During the winter months, levels of melatonin – the “sleep” hormone – increase. As such, you just want to curl up with your favorite blanket, watch movies on Netflix, drink hot cocoa and take a nap. When the daylight increases and temperatures rise during the spring, your body begins to produce more of the “happy” hormone – serotonin. This change also increases the level of endorphins – which explains your feeling of euphoria. Other hormones are at work too, like testosterone and estrogen, which cause you to feel like dating again! My advice is to embrace the feeling and have a SPRING FLING. There are plenty of nice places to meet someone! I suggest starting at a music venue – find a place that plays your kind of tunes, and you’re likely to find someone who shares some of your interests. Do you like art? Second Life offers many venues that showcase the works of artists with exhibit openings and receptions. Strike up a conversation with someone whose profile strikes your fancy. Do you like role play? How about Gorean, Vampire, Faeries, or an Old West venue? The possibilities are endless. Join a venue that interests you, be yourself, and you will attract someone who will want to be with “you”! Maybe it’s just a spring fling – hey, that’s cool! You had fun, right? And if it turns out to be more… well, you know where you can find the best wedding planners, venues, photographers, ministers, musicians, flowers, catering, clothing and honeymoon packages, right here at IDWN!! If you have a question or need some advice send a notecard to Henri Fouquet in-world and see it featured here in an issue of IDWN Online Magazine

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WHEN LOVE BECOMES MORE THAN A GAME From time to time you hear of a couple who has met in SL, fallen in love, and lived happily ever after. This issue we take a closer look at the romance, virtual and real, of a couple that is blessed in just that way.

Meet Arioch and Portia, a dynamic and fascinating couple that has found a way to share their building sense and talents together in SL. Arioch, who is a little bit feisty, says he first met Portia when he had been invited to look at a build a friend of his was doing when he spied a magnificent build next to it. Flying closer to take a look, he set off a security bot which notified her of his intrusion. It turned out that she was a DJ working for him at the time. Arioch states he felt sure she was going to think he was stalking her. Portia, indeed, confirms his suspicion, chuckling fondly as she does. The two didn’t begin a romantic SL relationship of any sort for more than six months after they met. They started building together, and it eventually grew naturally. Portia recalls, “One day we were looking at a furniture build and I ended up sitting on his lap in an animation. That’s when something clicked.” And clicked, it did. Their friendship moved forward and they built Runestone, a creative and beautiful SL SIM, and then took both the SIM, and their romance, to RL, together. The path to their RL union, however, was again something that progressed and grew naturally. IDWN asked, “When did you first meet and were you nervous?”

Arioch responds, “LMAO...she was worried she wouldn’t ‘smell right’ as she put it. She was afraid I would be expecting her flawless unblemished avatar. I wasn’t really nervous at all. I already ‘knew’ everything about her that mattered. She was an amazing, brilliant creature.” The couple, who had skyped all the time, but not shared video or pictures often, was asked, once you met what was going through your mind? For Arioch it was her eyes, he states, “Her eyes were exactly the same as her avatars...I mean EXACTLY! They stunned me.” While Portia says, “He kept staring at my eyes! I thought something was wrong with me.” Obviously, the notion that something was wrong was quickly and completely ruled out. Portia stated Arioch brought up RL first, but that she was concerned it would be hard to pull off. Arioch felt he always knew RL was the right way to go though originally it wasn’t even a remote possibility. When it became possible, they just began working on it. When asked what steps they took to build their lives together Arioch states, “I had a lot of RL obligations with work I had to divest myself of. It was a gradual process.”, he continues, “like everything else in our years of collaboration, we didn’t need a plan, we just built it.”

“We were 2000 miles apart and neither of us wanted to go live in the other’s location.” says Portia, “During a vacation in the Pacific Northwest I found a property that was everything we’d dreamed of. “ “We had owned Runestone SIM for four years so when we found it in RL, we bought it.” Arioch continues, “We went to each other, sort of. She moved there first and I came along later.” Portia exclaims, “The universe conspired to find him a better job in our new location. His new employers even covered his moving expenses!” How has it been ever since? Responding together, they both stated, “Perfect.” While the couple didn’t play in SL much for a while because rural internet was only allowing one of them to run SL at a time, they persevered and a very clever kid at their IP got it to work. “So look out, we’re back!” Says Arioch. When asked what advice would they have for other couples considering taking a relationship permanently to RL? Arioch lends his wisdom, “You can’t rez a house. If you don’t pay your bills they don’t just return all your stuff and eject you. Be realistic.. starving lovers stay starving but not lovers. Most of all, never forget that you ARE your avatar...you just don’t look like him or her.”

Are you looking for your true love, hoping for the kind of love Arioch and Portia have found? The couples states, “Love happens in the mind. Look at the things you love to do in RL and find similar things in SL. Doing those things will put you around people like you. You can be amazing in SL and if you are, you become amazing in RL. Let your avatar be you and as you learn from your avatar become your avi.” However, they caution, “Be very careful. We’ve seen friends hurt by people who represented themselves inaccurately. Due diligence may seem cold and untrusting but failure to do a little homework can be devastating.” Lending some imparting wisdom to bring our story to a close, as it could not be said better than this loving couple could put it, they advise, “We have watched SL destroy a lot of people because they distance themselves from their avi, they treat their avi as an object and treat SL as a game. Make this a second life - a chance to be the type of person that you want to be and shun those that treat it too flippantly (humor is good, but hurt is evil in any world). Don’t bother being angry with them or holding grudges...just move on, it’s a big SL...enjoy it.” Our thanks for Arioch and Portia for taking time to share with us. Their SIM, Runestone, is still open in SL, and can be found: http://maps.secondlife.com/ secondlife/Runestone/71/107/25

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I Do Wedding Network Member Highlight Isabelle Mavendorf

Written by Emma Portilo

A new craze is starting to hit the grid for SL weddings and romantic engagements and now that it has begun it’s hard to imagine what they would be without it. So what is the latest and greatest? It’s entertainment! Gifts of entertainment, entertainment for the delight of guests, entertainment for occasions and parties. Entertainment for the pure sake of fun! The unique concept is driven by the talented Isabelle Mavendorf, long time choreographer and collector of all things dances and this month we are putting the member spotlight on her. Catching up with Isabelle, we had some time to find out what it is all about. IDWN: In your own words, what is it about your dance presentations that make them different from everyone else? Isabelle: What makes this style of dance different from other choreography you will find in SL is the fact that the entire dance, whether one large routine or many small ones spread out over a large area, is that every routine is customized. In a recent surprise proposal, the prospective groom selected the music, made costume requests, and outlined how he wanted us to tell his intended bride a story of their romance while she was driven in a carriage from one setting to the next. The prospective groom joined in the final dance, straight to where his lovely girlfriend stood, and proposed to her.

This was a very elaborate and well planned concept, and while the wedding planners had to reign in the original concept ( the original flash mob was to have 35-40 dancers in the finale, and he wanted each dance performed on a different SIM, for example), they did an amazing job creating a memorable look for each of the six dance numbers. I tried to match his imagination of a flash mob style dance by having dancers walk into the dance area from different places and at different times. Between each dance, classical music played as the carriage ride continued on to the next setting. This made each carefully selected song stand out even more. IDWN: The costumes are wonderful and very fitting for the style of music being played...who does the costuming? Isabelle: A lot depends on the dance and what the customer wants. The costumes you saw where requested by the customer and then made by the wedding planners, with one exception where dancers had the appropriate clothing. So basically, we will create costumes or we will have suitable ones in our inventory. DWN: How are the songs chosen? Isabelle: The customers will usually have the songs because the music will be meaningful to them. That doesn’t mean we wouldn’t choose music, but the idea is to make a memorable, personal experience for the customer or person the dance is performed for as a surprise.

IDWN: How many people appear in the dances? Isabelle: The number of dancers is limited only by SL, so to be honest, I wouldn’t recommend more than 20, though you can have more. IDWN: How do you prepare for and deal with lag? Isabelle: First and foremost, I reduce my graphics so I can move easily. Dancers are confined to low scripts (under 12). However, the key has less to do with the dancers than with the audience. If you zoom in as close as possible (getting all dancers in your field of vision) you will see them dance as you are supposed to see them. If you are zoomed out too far or you zoom in and out, you will experience lagging movements and out of sync dancing. IDWN: Do the dancers just get added to a HUD? Isabelle: There is a HUD involved. I hate to give away secrets, but then all choreographers know about the SpotOn dance systems. It is, hands down, the best system on the grid. IDWN: I’ve seen some of the dances where there are unique sets that are used, who builds the sets and can you have anything you want? Isabelle: The wedding planners built the sets for the recent proposal dances. I do think they would try to create anything you wanted. Having said that, they might have to bring you down to earth if what you want simply isn’t feasible within

a time frame of within the constraints of SL. I can also build a bit and what I cannot build, I know people who can. IDWN: As someone interested in this service, is there a specific wedding service that you must use or do you do this at any venue? Isabelle: I would do this for any venue and have done it at other venues and locations. IDWN: Do you only do weddings & engagements? Isabelle: No, this is the type of fun surprise that could fit anywhere. The only limit is your imagination and desire. IDWN: How do readers reserve this service for an occasion? Isabelle: If you are working with wedding planners, then request that they contact me directly with regard to the dance. They will make sure all of you needs are met. If you are a venue owner or individual looking to hire me to create something for you, contact me directly. IDWN thanks Isabelle for sharing her time with us and letting us in on her new fun trend for adding something extra special to events of all kinds. If you’d like to be featured on a future member spotlight article, please contact Emma Portilo in world or at emmaportilo@gmail.com.

Netera Lander

Alan Edlund & Chase Cheren exchanged

vows on the enchanted Love Stor y Venue at Charming Beginnings. Towering Roman columns dressed in blue-violet surrounded the outdoor wedding chapel. Midnight blue and white with Sapphire flowers painted the area with even more color. The bridal party proudly stood upon a lavender carpet adorned with scattered rose petals. Behind the altar stood Peggie Bundy, who conducted the ceremony, looking elegant in a strapless white gown. Sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also the owner of C.B. Weddings, now celebrating its seventh year of delivering elegant affairs.

The groomsmen wore fashionable tuxes and one man sported a fedora to complete his look. Across from them were the bridesmaids. The wedding party included three groomsmen and five bridesmaids: Beef Stewie, DJ Falcon, Kammy Helstein, Marcus Zenoria, Mollie Somerslay and Banana Milfshake, Storm Georgia and Marie3whispers. The bridesmaids looked gorgeous in a strapless midnight blue Eliza gowns from Sugar with orchid bouquets. Totally in love, and excited to be standing at the altar, were Alan in a tux and his bride, Chase, in a Dashwood Kate gown. Their guests sat comfortably upon princess-style benches as flamingos stood at the base of a waterfall and swans neared their mates. “Chase and Alan purchased package three, a base package, which included the rental of the beautiful venue for the wedding and reception all designed for their colors, along with all the poses and walks for both the ceremony and the reception. It included the cake cutting, toast, garter removal, dances and more,” explained Ms. Bundy. The couple’s good friend Stewie, handled the entertainment and friend Ono Fearne was happy to assist by photographing their special union. “Alan has since become part of the Charming Beginnings staff as one of our DJs, as well as his friend, Stewie,” said Ms. Bundy.

Long before they stood at the altar, Alan and Chase worked at Ohana Rock Club, which is owned by Eric Tempest. Alan was already working at the venue as a DJ when Chase accepted a hosting position. They meet in Apr. 2013, but didn’t get together until August. Though they worked at the same venue, they were never scheduled on the same night. That was until a host got married and Chase was asked to work in her place. The magic happened when she requested a song to be played and they ended up dancing. “After that day we were always together. We ended up dining at a Second Life restaurant and dancing. Alan has been stuck with me ever since,” Chase kidded, adding that she left it up to Chase to find a romantic setting for their Second Life wedding. In December, the couple met in real life. Chase lives in Wisconsin and Alan in Illinois so the distance is manageable. They are now fortunate to have a real life relationship and continue to share all that Second Life offers. This proves that happily ever after is possible in both worlds. “I Do Network” toasts Alan and Chase and wishes them the best life offers. If you are interested in seeing your wedding featured in IDWN Online Magazine contact Netera Lander or send an email to idoweddingnetworksl@gmail.com

If you would like to advertise in our next issue please contact Pac LoreďŹ eld or Marla Marx in Second Life. You can also email us at www.idoweddingnetworksl@gmail.com