On the 30th May, I was honoured to be able to marry Mattt Guyot. Despite the difficulties of time zones etc we arranged to marry at Love Story Weddings. The lady responsible for our big day was Butchee Underwood, who managed to keep our nerves in check and performed an amazing ceremony for us. The day went without a hitch and both Mattt & I shed a few tears over it all. For once SL had behaved as we had no crashes or lag.
I decided to find out more about the person that created our memorable day.
I decided to find out more about the person that created our memorable day.
BD: What made you go into the 'wedding' business?
BU: Well the fact I like to help people for starter's , its exciting to see someone's dreams coming true in second life as in the real world , to be able to provide the " perfect " wedding , to see those smiling faces and making the dreams become reality
BD: Well I can understand that speaking from my own experience, lol
BU: Smiles
BD: What is the worst thing that has happened at a ceremony?
BU: Well , I’d like to say there hasn’t been anything " bad " happen but I suppose the worst is some one coming to “grieve”, which there is no way totally for me to ensure this from happening , I had a gentlemen come dressed as the dark vador character , flying around through the wedding. I found out it was a person the groom had " ticked " off , so I had to come from my stand to hunt the person and eject and ban the avatar , so I would say that is probably the worst that has happened
BD: Have you had any strange 'requests' for a ceremony and can you tell me what it was?
BU: I have a lot of different request's over 1000 weddings thinking back , in my own words the strange request would be in the world of BDSM , with the Master / Slave/ Gor , it was a bit odd for myself the first time I had this requested so I did have to research a bit and learn the custom's and it was rather interesting to find the nature of the BDSM / Gor , but my personal opinion , if it makes the person happy then so be it we will perform anything to make sure that the day is certainly special for the couple , .... the only other thing I can think of that was certainly strange, I had two ladies wanting to marry the same gentlemen so I found this rather odd. But keeping in mind this is second life and anything is possible, (smiles)
BD: I know you are quite busy now, but how hard was it for you to 'establish' the business?
BU: Well the company had mostly established when I came along , when I first started working in second life I worked under the former owner, Alisha Appin . She helped guide me along and taught me most that I know , she was a very good friend to me and the day she came to me and told me she was closing I thought to myself, I couldn’t let this happen so I purchased the company from her. I’m certainly not her by any means, she knows all there is to know about the wedding business in second life. She has taught me everything I know about it , and still helps guide me along , and anyone that had the pleasure of meeting Alisha certainly meet a wonderful person. When I worked with her we made quite the team in the wedding business but now that I am on my own , it’s a bit different , she still helps occasionally and gives me advice on many things but since she has retired to a island to build her dream.
BD: I know you offer a range of ceremony 'packages, what would you say is the most popular?
BU: well my premium packages are popular most people want there days to be special and to have everything I have to offer , so most I would say would be the diamond and ultimate package's
BD: In RL you are a radio DJ, so does this fit in well with your SL role?
BU: Yes the rl radio dj does fit in with my role here , I do the music for all my weddings , all songs that the happy couple requests there played at the wedding / reception so yes it does fit my sl role in many ways
BD: Well I know you did a great job at our wedding, the guests loved the music you played .
BU: Thank you (smiles)
BD: How difficult is it for you to choose the music that the couple have not specifically requested?
BU: Well I usually take the genre of the music for example from there weddings songs they request and I try to mix from that , it gives me a good idea of what the happy couple like's as far as music.
BD: Has there been a really strange request for a particular song/piece of music?
BU: Yes in some ways , but it’s all what the couple wants of course , you would think weddings would consist of love songs , etc , I find that " I’m in love with a stripper " isn’t typical wedding music but its been requested by the couple , so of course its played.
BD: Maybe one of the couple was a stripper.
BU: Maybe but its still odd wedding music (smiles)
BD: True. On average, how many ceremonies to you do in a week?
BU: On average I am running 20 or more per week
BD: Do you still get nervous when you carry out the ceremony?
BU: No , at first I was insecure mostly of doing the ceremony’s on my own , afraid of doing something the wrong way , since I had worked with Alisha for a long time and she was always with me helping , so when I moved to doing things on my own I was nervous yes , but now its very natural for me to do most things on my own.
BD: That's good to know, you certainly coped with our nervousness on the day, very professional.
BU: I have learned , to try to calm , because I’m sure most are nervous when they come to the special day , because they want everything perfect , so I do everything with in my power according to sl to take the stress and pressure off the happy couple so that they enjoy there special day
BD: It worked for Mattt and I lol
BU: So you can see first hand , and that is how I am with all couples whom I perform service's for (smiles)
BD: What advise would you give to a couple planning to have a ceremony?
BU: Well I would first say to them , to decide there date and time , then from there we decide to custom there package , to meet there needs not everyone needs the ultimate deal , so in short
I would say , to first decide the dates and times , and then let myself handle the rest (smiles)
BD: What will happen if you decide to tie the knot?
BU: oh my , your speaking of myself now ?
BD: Yes lol
BU: I think hell would freeze over
BD: ROFL
BU: But I am certain , if miss right came along , I would ask some one to perform my wedding (smiles)
BD: It will happen one day, I thought it never would but , bingo, Mattt and I lol
BU: Yes I’m sure she is out there , she just needs to be found (smiles)
BD: What is the hardest part of your SL 'job'?
BU: Well the hardest part , I would definitely say is not finding enough hours in a day to do the things my job requires , I am usually on second life 14+ hour's a day , there are many weekends I have been here for 24 hours because of weddings I had booked back to back in a 24 hour period , so the hardest part of my sl job would be finding enough time to help everyone
BD: So I take it you don't have much time to relax and do your 'own thing' in SL?
BU: No I very rarely do my " own things " in second life , the time I do find I spend with friends , dancing , being a dj at a great country club , or exploring
BD: Out of all the many weddings you have carried out, is there one in particular that stands out, and for what reason?
BU: Well friends weddings have stood out the most to me , because they are personal friends , but there are so many that stands out in my head because I’d love to think all the weddings we do are wonderful.
BD: What would be the hardest part of the ceremony for you?
BU: It has all comes natural now , so there is no real hard part (smiles)
BD: Mattt and I chose the 'Beach' area to marry in, what is the most popular 'theme'?
BU: Between my garden and beach theme.
BD: Without mentioning names, have you ever carried out a ceremony for the same person twice? i.e., they divorced and remarried.
BU: Yes it certainly happens
BD: Do you carry out a 'Renewing of Vows' ceremony?
BU: Yes we do
BD: I'll remember that (smiles)
BU: (smiles)
BD: On a personal note, what would be your ideal location for a honeymoon in RL
BU: The beach (smiles)
BD: I can understand that lol
BD: Ok, as I have left my notes in my briefcase at rl work, I can't think of anything else; Anything you want to add off your own back?
BU: No I think we have pretty much covered it all Baron , and I certainly thank you for choosing Love Story Weddings for your personal and special day , I hope that ma
ny other's will come as well , also I’d like to personally thank you for this interview its been a true pleasure to sit down with you , and to all the reader's , I would love to for them to come to Love Story Weddings and allow us to make there special day perfect (smiles)
BD: Right, thanks a lot for your time, sorry it took so long to meet. Thanks again for all you did on our special day (smiles)
BU: Well thank you (smiles)
BU: Well the fact I like to help people for starter's , its exciting to see someone's dreams coming true in second life as in the real world , to be able to provide the " perfect " wedding , to see those smiling faces and making the dreams become reality
BD: Well I can understand that speaking from my own experience, lol
BU: Smiles
BD: What is the worst thing that has happened at a ceremony?
BU: Well , I’d like to say there hasn’t been anything " bad " happen but I suppose the worst is some one coming to “grieve”, which there is no way totally for me to ensure this from happening , I had a gentlemen come dressed as the dark vador character , flying around through the wedding. I found out it was a person the groom had " ticked " off , so I had to come from my stand to hunt the person and eject and ban the avatar , so I would say that is probably the worst that has happened
BD: Have you had any strange 'requests' for a ceremony and can you tell me what it was?
BU: I have a lot of different request's over 1000 weddings thinking back , in my own words the strange request would be in the world of BDSM , with the Master / Slave/ Gor , it was a bit odd for myself the first time I had this requested so I did have to research a bit and learn the custom's and it was rather interesting to find the nature of the BDSM / Gor , but my personal opinion , if it makes the person happy then so be it we will perform anything to make sure that the day is certainly special for the couple , .... the only other thing I can think of that was certainly strange, I had two ladies wanting to marry the same gentlemen so I found this rather odd. But keeping in mind this is second life and anything is possible, (smiles)
BD: I know you are quite busy now, but how hard was it for you to 'establish' the business?
BU: Well the company had mostly established when I came along , when I first started working in second life I worked under the former owner, Alisha Appin . She helped guide me along and taught me most that I know , she was a very good friend to me and the day she came to me and told me she was closing I thought to myself, I couldn’t let this happen so I purchased the company from her. I’m certainly not her by any means, she knows all there is to know about the wedding business in second life. She has taught me everything I know about it , and still helps guide me along , and anyone that had the pleasure of meeting Alisha certainly meet a wonderful person. When I worked with her we made quite the team in the wedding business but now that I am on my own , it’s a bit different , she still helps occasionally and gives me advice on many things but since she has retired to a island to build her dream.
BD: I know you offer a range of ceremony 'packages, what would you say is the most popular?
BU: well my premium packages are popular most people want there days to be special and to have everything I have to offer , so most I would say would be the diamond and ultimate package's
BD: In RL you are a radio DJ, so does this fit in well with your SL role?
BU: Yes the rl radio dj does fit in with my role here , I do the music for all my weddings , all songs that the happy couple requests there played at the wedding / reception so yes it does fit my sl role in many ways
BD: Well I know you did a great job at our wedding, the guests loved the music you played .
BU: Thank you (smiles)
BD: How difficult is it for you to choose the music that the couple have not specifically requested?
BU: Well I usually take the genre of the music for example from there weddings songs they request and I try to mix from that , it gives me a good idea of what the happy couple like's as far as music.
BD: Has there been a really strange request for a particular song/piece of music?
BU: Yes in some ways , but it’s all what the couple wants of course , you would think weddings would consist of love songs , etc , I find that " I’m in love with a stripper " isn’t typical wedding music but its been requested by the couple , so of course its played.
BD: Maybe one of the couple was a stripper.
BU: Maybe but its still odd wedding music (smiles)
BD: True. On average, how many ceremonies to you do in a week?
BU: On average I am running 20 or more per week
BD: Do you still get nervous when you carry out the ceremony?
BU: No , at first I was insecure mostly of doing the ceremony’s on my own , afraid of doing something the wrong way , since I had worked with Alisha for a long time and she was always with me helping , so when I moved to doing things on my own I was nervous yes , but now its very natural for me to do most things on my own.
BD: That's good to know, you certainly coped with our nervousness on the day, very professional.
BU: I have learned , to try to calm , because I’m sure most are nervous when they come to the special day , because they want everything perfect , so I do everything with in my power according to sl to take the stress and pressure off the happy couple so that they enjoy there special day
BD: It worked for Mattt and I lol
BU: So you can see first hand , and that is how I am with all couples whom I perform service's for (smiles)
BD: What advise would you give to a couple planning to have a ceremony?
BU: Well I would first say to them , to decide there date and time , then from there we decide to custom there package , to meet there needs not everyone needs the ultimate deal , so in short
I would say , to first decide the dates and times , and then let myself handle the rest (smiles)BD: What will happen if you decide to tie the knot?
BU: oh my , your speaking of myself now ?
BD: Yes lol
BU: I think hell would freeze over
BD: ROFL
BU: But I am certain , if miss right came along , I would ask some one to perform my wedding (smiles)
BD: It will happen one day, I thought it never would but , bingo, Mattt and I lol
BU: Yes I’m sure she is out there , she just needs to be found (smiles)
BD: What is the hardest part of your SL 'job'?
BU: Well the hardest part , I would definitely say is not finding enough hours in a day to do the things my job requires , I am usually on second life 14+ hour's a day , there are many weekends I have been here for 24 hours because of weddings I had booked back to back in a 24 hour period , so the hardest part of my sl job would be finding enough time to help everyone
BD: So I take it you don't have much time to relax and do your 'own thing' in SL?
BU: No I very rarely do my " own things " in second life , the time I do find I spend with friends , dancing , being a dj at a great country club , or exploring
BD: Out of all the many weddings you have carried out, is there one in particular that stands out, and for what reason?
BU: Well friends weddings have stood out the most to me , because they are personal friends , but there are so many that stands out in my head because I’d love to think all the weddings we do are wonderful.
BD: What would be the hardest part of the ceremony for you?
BU: It has all comes natural now , so there is no real hard part (smiles)
BD: Mattt and I chose the 'Beach' area to marry in, what is the most popular 'theme'?
BU: Between my garden and beach theme.
BD: Without mentioning names, have you ever carried out a ceremony for the same person twice? i.e., they divorced and remarried.
BU: Yes it certainly happens
BD: Do you carry out a 'Renewing of Vows' ceremony?
BU: Yes we do
BD: I'll remember that (smiles)
BU: (smiles)
BD: On a personal note, what would be your ideal location for a honeymoon in RL
BU: The beach (smiles)
BD: I can understand that lol
BD: Ok, as I have left my notes in my briefcase at rl work, I can't think of anything else; Anything you want to add off your own back?
BU: No I think we have pretty much covered it all Baron , and I certainly thank you for choosing Love Story Weddings for your personal and special day , I hope that ma
ny other's will come as well , also I’d like to personally thank you for this interview its been a true pleasure to sit down with you , and to all the reader's , I would love to for them to come to Love Story Weddings and allow us to make there special day perfect (smiles)BD: Right, thanks a lot for your time, sorry it took so long to meet. Thanks again for all you did on our special day (smiles)
BU: Well thank you (smiles)
If any of our readers want to find out more, and I'm sure there are may out there who do, please contact Butchee Underwood or visit Love Story Weddings at the link below. Many thanks to Firehorse Rearwin & Insyx Piranha for sending me snapshots from a different perspective. Please note: the 'Love Story Weddings' company logo is used with kind permission of Butchee Underwood.
