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The craziest wedding trends of 2014 so far.

Have these nutty wedding trends gone too far?

It’s not just about turning your phone off. This year’s weddings are all about pink dresses, BYO engagement rings, and well, the very opposite of invitations…

Check it out:

1. Brides paying for their own bling.

The men of the world are rejoicing this year because somehow they’ve managed to hand over one of their only wedding responsibilities: buying the ring.

More and more brides-to-be, specifically one in five, are picking and purchasing their own engagement rings so that they can be sure of the quality of the rock.

Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson both paid for theirs to make sure they weren’t going to get something out of a Christmas bon-bon, and now a study in the UK shows that 54 per cent of single women plan on paying at least half for their bling, as the process becomes more of a ritual that couples do together.

2. ‘You’re not invited’ alerts.

When this trend kicks in, you won’t die wondering whether your invite just got lost in the mail. We’re talking about ‘You’re not invited’ cards and they’re every bit as blunt as they sound.

Basically, your betrothed friend will send you a note or email letting you know that you’re definitely not invited to their wedding and no, your presence is not requested on their special day.

Tatiana Byron, founder of event planning company The Wedding Salon, says that usually it’s simply a matter of cutting down on guests because of little space and they “are usually people they’re friendly with, but not close to”. That’s one way to quell any ‘am I or aren’t I’ confusion. Ouch.

3. Hi, I’m today’s Social Media Concierge.

We live in a very connected world and it looks like weddings are having to adapt to keep up with the times. If you want your ‘I dos’ to be broadcast to the world, then you’re obviously going to need to hire a social media concierge.

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That’s right, you can pay someone to be in control of creating hashtags on your wedding day and then do the live-Tweeting and Instagram posting for you, because let’s be honest, it’s the most important thing that will happen on the day. And all yours for the small sum of (ahem) US$3,000.

4. Unplugged Weddings

On the extreme other side of the wedding spectrum, some brides and grooms are now forbidding the use of technology on their big day. Welcome to the ‘unplugged wedding.’

If you’re attending one of these bad boys, don’t expect to return home chuffed with all your memory-filled photos because, sadly, you won’t have any.

No phones and no cameras are allowed at unplugged weddings, where couples demand that guests switch off their gadgets and be in the present moment while the professional photographers do all the hard work.

5. Pink Bridal Gowns

When Vera Wang revealed her 2014 Fall bridal collection, the wedding world went crazy – and thus was born the pink wedding dress trend. Pale pink, blush, bubble gum pink, hot pink…you name it, there is now a bridal gown in that shade of pink. Traditional white gowns are no longer the only option and the fairy princess wedding can be taken up to a whole new level. Good one Vera!

Here are some of Vera’s pink gowns:

This post was originally published on iVillage and is republished here with full permission.

What do you think of these trends? Heard of any others we should know about?

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