Full disclosure before I rip into the idea of “Tinder-themed weddings” – I met my partner on a dating app.

I am not, however, going to try and transform a shallow swipe right and an awkward initial message exchange into a romantic meet cute.

What can I say, I’m a realist.

Which brings us to the latest irritating wedding trend. Here’s Mashable:

The Tinder catchphrase “It’s a Match!” has always contained a semi-ironic nod to the decidedly old-school roots of matchmaking. But the phrase that launched a thousand hookups takes on an even schmaltzier meaning when an initial swipe right turns into marriage.

Far from ashamed, couples who meet each other on dating apps are now paying a grateful — if tongue-in-cheek — homage to how it all began.

Studies have shown that there was initially a bit of stigma and shame attached to the idea of meeting on a dating app, but that’s clearly changing.

On Instagram, the hashtag #TinderWedding has more than 1,700 photos of happy couples and flowery nuptials. Tinder weddings, and even Tinder babies, are most definitely already A Thing.

The #TinderWedding-tagged photos don’t just reference the way people met, however. The hashtag refers to actual pieces of wedding decor and accessories — including photo signs, napkins, coasters, cake toppers, clothing, and oh so much more — that celebrate the mutual swipe right that began the couple’s relationship.

I’m going to assume that Tinder babies are what happens when a Tinder hookup goes wrong.

A near-constant among the Tinder-themed decor is a sense of cheek.

The celebration often seems playfully subversive: “We swiped right” pokes fun at the earnest “she said yes!” engagement announcement refrain. “It’s a match!” signs serve as a tears-of-joy “thank you” to the couple’s digital yenta.

Tinder says it’s “impossible to know” how many Tinder dates end in marriage, but it gets “thousands of success stories” from people who have found “a new relationship, a life partner or are even having a baby, thanks to the platform”.

Again, people, please use birth control when you hook up.

The Tinder-themed wedding is being described as a “pre-emptive strike” against people who might still be a bit judgy about a couple’s origin story.

Sigh.

If your only problem is that people aren’t falling over themselves to ooh and aah over your Tinder match origin story, then you really need to reevaluate your priorities.

[source:mashable]