Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Tattoos and "I Do"s

the possibilities are infinite.



chances are i'll be a tattooed bride.

i have quite a few tattoos, of which, 2 pretty sizable ones show in my superfantastical uber vintage-glam wedding gown. initially, the style of dress i was considering would cover the tattoos, though covering them was coincidence; i happened to be interested in more modest gowns. but as most brides will tell you, what you think you want and what you fall in love with may be from two completely different planets (in some cases that applies to the groom himself).

so i guess i already am a tattooed bride. what i should have said is that chances are tattoos will be on full display at my wedding.

even when i thought my own tattoos would be covered by my then undiscovered wedding dress, i was considering having my brideswomen cover theirs with either their dress styles or tattoo makeup. i think it was partly the assumption that most bridesmaids do cover and partly the knowledge that my mom would prefer it that way. but once i found THE dress and it happened to be one that would show the two prominent tattoos on my upper back (i'm being très vague here, as the fiancé occasionally reads sistergarten and he's not privy to dress information), i had to decide: to cover or not to cover. the more i thought about it (all of this happened in the span of a weekend), the more i began to think about why i was thinking about it at all. covering my tattoos won't make me not tattooed. it will just keep wedding guests from seeing the tattoos. and while that practice may serve a very specific purpose in the workplace, it won't serve me on my wedding day. and while my mother doesn't care for any of my body art, she's very loving and supportive, and i'm sure she'll eventually support my decision to completely be myself on my wedding day. or at least i think she will. maybe. i hope :).

the initial conversation went a little something like this (via text):

me: i'm thinking of not covering my tattoos for the wedding.
mama: what you talkin' 'bout willis?
me: we'll talk tomorrow. get some rest.

she's awesome.

so, i've made the decision that all tattoos great and small will be allowed and welcomed on the bride, brideswomen, and groomsmen alike. for some lovely images of tattooed brides, visit the offbeat bride website.

10 comments:

Tenisha said...

i can't wait to see 'em all. does this mean i should go and get inked? as i do not have a tat or a too on me. =))

Drew said...

Girl you paid for 'em! Show 'em off! Besides if your mom wants some non-tattooed pictures there's always Photoshop! :)

Tina said...

YAY!! The decision you have made is great! Show your beautiful artwork (what a wonderful canvas the skin is)!! And of course Marjorie will be supportive of this decision-your happiness is of utmost importance. And even better that the wedding party will be able to show their tattoos also!! And yes Tenisha-you have to get inked before the wedding-that's a rule-LOL!!

rhythm said...

yes! photoshop! lol...

rhythm said...

uh, oh. tina's gonna go get a full sleeve now, lol.

rhythm said...

UPDATE:

mama: [Mama] is fine with that. Your wedding day is all about you and [the fiancé].

I love you - tatts and all.


***didn't i tell you she's awesome?***

A said...

Believe me when I say it's ESSENTIAL to please yourself(and your fiance) on that day. No one else. It's not THEIR day. Sure you will, hopefully, be respectful but in the end it's for you. In the beginning I spent so much time trying to make sure this person was comfortable and this person had what they wanted. This got old after the first month. Once I gave in and realized that every. single. person would NOT be completely satisfied and things WOULD go wrong on my wedding day is when I actually enjoyed the process.

So apart from that bit of word vomit...show the tats. Clearly it was meant to be with the dress that you've picked. And do it knowing that you'll look back and know you were *you on your wedding day. Not a censored, 'conservative' version of yourself!

A.N.W.A.R said...

i just want to say it's great how the [fiance] is referred to like an after thought. further proof that wedding are a plot to make men (if only for one day) feel like a decoration. i'm on to yall

LC said...

I love the decision! The day is all about you and anybody that doesn't like it, shouldn't be there! Of course your mama is great-it would take more than a few tats to change that!

Unknown said...

i'm so diggin ur decision 2 be freely U on ur day!

@ anwar, ur a nut!

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