Wedding Band Tattoos |
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Although a wedding is often both a huge undertaking and a rite of passage marking a significant change in one’s life, once the ceremony is over and the papers signed, most people don’t look different. The wedding ring is often the only external sign that someone’s social status has changed from single to married. Some people, though, don’t even bother to wear wedding rings, while others – for a variety of reasons – want that change in status to be permanently advertised. These serious folks get wedding band tattoos.
The old view of tattoos was that they were only for tough people – sailors, bikers, and other rough sorts who (presumably) gave little thought to being poked for hours with painful needles and having permanent marks on their bodies. In recent years, though, tattoos have grown increasingly popular at all levels of society as a means of personal expression, and it is no longer surprising to find tattoos on just about anybody. Wedding band tattoos have therefore also been growing in popularity. The reasoning is, if you are making a permanent lifetime commitment to someone else; why not show it as a permanent wedding ring?
Wedding band tattoos can be a practical alternative to wedding rings, if your job forbids the wearing of jewelry for safety reasons. Wedding band tattoos are also not likely to fall off in the sink, at the airport, or in the couch, and get permanently lost. And a good tattoo artist can give you a beautiful ring tattoo for a price similar or better than a fine piece of jewelry.
Wedding band tattoos do have some problems, though.
- Tattooing can be a painful procedure even on relatively insensitive areas of the body, like the back or thighs. Hands have many more nerve endings than most other areas and any tattooing on the hand will be extremely painful. The skin on your hands is also different from skin in other areas, so it heals differently and holds ink differently and often not very well. Fingers, in particular, are an awkward area to tattoo – and the smaller your fingers, the more awkward it will be.
- Consider as well that your hands are the part of your body that see the most use and exposure to the elements. This means that the tattoo ink will fade, distort, and blur much more quickly than it would on other areas of the body. So your “permanent” wedding ring will actually need to be reapplied periodically, probably about yearly. This means the lifetime cost of a wedding band tattoo is probably going to be much higher than the one-time investment in a wedding ring.
- And finally, there is still some lingering prejudice in society against people with tattoos, particularly tattoos on highly visible areas of the body – so a wedding band tattoo may not be a good option for people working in socially conservative professions or circles.
Wedding Ring tattoos
If you still are interested in getting a wedding band tattoo, it is recommended that you choose a simple design that is easy to maintain – your tattoo artist should be able to help you with this decision. The simplest design to maintain is a dark one-color band, and this sort of tattoo will probably show less evidence of fading or blurring than others over time (although it will still have to get re-inked periodically). A simple Celtic knotwork design, or a stylized tribal design incorporating the name of your spouse, may also be a good choice, depending on the design and the ink colors.
Finally, you’ll need to find a tattoo artist who is willing to do the tattoo. Many artists will not do tattoos in highly visible areas, and some tattoo studios forbid such tattooing. Other artists may not like working on such an awkward area of the body that does not hold ink well. However, if you are persistent, you should be able to find someone who is willing to do a wedding band tattoo. A reputable and professional tattoo artist will be happy to show you the tattooing equipment, explain the process, provide assurances of cleanliness and sterility of the equipment and needles, and help you choose a unique design that suits your style and is also easy to maintain. A good tattoo artist also maintains pictures of previous tattoos they have done to demonstrate the quality of their work. The work of such an artist will not be cheap – but for a wedding band that is going in your finger instead of on it, such expense will be well worth it.
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September 29th, 2009 at 10:42 am
This is a trend that certainly holds its own appeal. I do know someone with a wedding ring tattoo. He likes the fact that it is always there, he doesn’t worry about losing it or needing to take it off to go to work. I, for one, am not a fan of pain and would never purposely undergo such discomfort. I think I’ll stick to the real thing.
November 19th, 2009 at 4:27 am
Thanks for the info. I’m getting one for sure. I lost my ring a couple of years ago but it was amazing it lasted that long. I had to take it off for any sports I wanted to play and that was a few times each week. I want to have a ring, but it’s not practical, so the tattoo is great. I didn’t know any of the facts you mentioned though. I’ll ask about all that at the tattoo place.
Thanks again.
January 15th, 2010 at 5:29 am
I’m not sure if I am ready to forgo tradition…it always gives a feeling of sentimentality whenever I feel my wedding ring. It’s just always been there. I’ve been married for 5 years and if I don’t feel my wedding ring it seems like I’m naked. One thing that makes it more valuable is that my husband did his best to scrape up enough to give me a decent ring- one that I can wear proudly. I’d say he played the part to the hilt. He gave me a james allen micro pave wedding ring. It’s just perfect for me.
February 13th, 2010 at 12:43 pm
My husband and i finally got our wedding ring tattoos done yesterday afternoon! We’ve been married a little over 10 years (and have put on a few pounds) so our wedding rings haven’t fit for some time. We also didn’t want to alter our rings and that’s why we chose the tattoo ring! I was amazed that it didn’t hurt one bit! This is the perfect fit for us!
April 10th, 2010 at 1:53 pm
I love this idea. My fiancee and I are getting married and we both wanted tattoos as a wedding present, so we decided to get tattoo rings. We have simple rings for work since tattoos are not allowed to be seen. We have a lot of ideas, but we still need to get a reputable artist.
August 16th, 2010 at 9:24 am
What font are your letters written in?
August 16th, 2010 at 9:47 am
I don’t know the name of the font used for these tattoos, sorry. But, I bet if you print the photo and bring it to your tattoo artist, he/she will be able to copy it.
March 1st, 2011 at 11:26 pm
Tattoo wedding rings are becoming more popular, a good friend of mine choose tattoos over diamonds and used the extra money for a down payment on their house. I personally can’t imagine myself without a physical ring. Like the other poster, I feel naked when I’m not wearing it. My husband on the other hand hates all jewelry and cannot stand to wear his ring. If I could talk him into a tattoo ring I would totally do it. I really like the ones in the picture above.
August 27th, 2011 at 11:22 pm
I appreciate the encouragement about the wedding ring tattoos. I have wanted one for a long time, as it is not always practical to wear wedding rings. It is hard to not lose your wedding ring, and you cannot lose a tattoo ring! Is it possible to get an ambigram on the finger, or is it too small an area to do such a tattoo? This would be a nice tribute to my children that would never go away.