Sentosa hosts virtual wedding on popular Animal Crossing game

Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) has held a virtual wedding for a Singaporean couple on its virtual Sentosa island in the popular Nintendo Switch game, Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The couple, Varian and Ruoyi, had originally scheduled their wedding ceremony during 30 May. Due to current social restrictions, the couple had to postpone their actual wedding ceremony, and instead took their wedding to the digital screen instead.

As part of the programme, the wedding celebrations kicked off with photoshoots at various offerings on the virtual Sentosa island, including Skyline Luge Sentosa, Butterfly Park and Insect Kingdom, Ola Beach Club, Rumours Beach Club and along Siloso Beach. The celebrations that end at Shangri-La's Rasa Sentosa Resort & Spa’s wedding aisle, with the couple’s bridesmaids and groomsmen. Aside from virtual wedding celebrations, Sentosa said it is planning to offer more novel leisure options for its guests. 

In a statement to Marketing, Kenneth Foo, senior art director, BBH Singapore, said the idea came about upon hearing increasing talk in the news about people having to postpone their weddings, and even amongst friends and family, due to the current restrictions. Thus the agency thought of holding a virtual wedding venue that it designed on the virtual island to give couples a special way to remember their wedding day, while having a chance to celebrate with their friends.

Since it launched its virtual island on Nintendo's Animal Crossing earlier last month, Sentosa has been promoting the island through its owned and earned channels, according to a SDC spokesperson. It has also held a livestream tour of the virtual island with social media personalities on its Facebook page.

Sentosa's virtual island aims to unlock further possibilities by leveraging on its iconic attractions and offerings to bring its island charm into players’ homes. Players who visit the island will be able to explore a digital recreation of Sentosa, from beach bars to nature trails and even a spot for some yoga by the beach. SDC collaborated with creative agency BBH Singapore for the launch of Sentosa Crossing, as well as to create Zoom backgrounds to add joy to work meetings for Singaporeans. The backgrounds include an array of shots to showcase Sentosa's beaches, attraction sites such as the Madame Tussauds museum, as well as its iconic beach clubs.

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