Tattoos and wedding dresses

I would just politely tell her that, while you value her opinion, you have the final word on what goes on your body. If you want to show off your tattoos and the dress you love does that, then what other people think doesn't matter.

Alot of the ladies on offbeatbride.com have visible tattoos that are gorgeous. Several years ago I attended a vow renewal for a military couple in a very conservative church and the bride had her entire upper back tattooed and visible and no one said a word.


You are the one getting married so ultimately it is your decision.

I agree with PP my dress shows all my tattoos. I love when a bride lets them show. They are a part of you and you shouldn't have to hide them on YOUR day!

You need to stand your ground here!

Don't be afraid of being upfront with your Mom and give her a realistic expectation of what you're after. Explain to her that you are always open to suggestions (to soften the blow) and that you'd be happy to try on something that she suggests to try it out, but that you do have a specific vision in mind which she will need to accept.

Once you find THE dress, hopefully she will see just by your demeanour that it is the one for you and not to contest it if your tattoos are showing.

I have tattoos and my mom has always hated them. she always makes me wear long sleeves to church or when guests are over, etc. it's aggravating i've had these for nearly a decade and she still acts that way. anyway so when i got engaged she told me straight up "you have to wear a long sleeve or long gloves or arm make up" ... i told her "i don't have to do anything because it's my wedding" i paid for my wedding myself too so i didn't think it was appropriate for her to tell me what to do with my event!

anyway i went with a wedding gown that was sleeveless and didn't cover up my arm or anything. at the end of the day, those tattoos are a part of me and everyone just has to deal with it.

I come from a family of tattoo-haters, and I have one full sleeve and many other smaller pieces. I agree with your thinking and with what previous comments have said: your tattoos are a part of you, and you should absolutely show them off if you want to.

One thing I learned while dress shopping though, is that lace/see through sleeves of any kind really distort/clash with the tattoos. I originally wanted long sleeves on my dress, but after seeing the way my tattoos looked under see through sleeves - I ended up going with a dress that has thin straps that allow my tattoos to shine.

If you’re proud of them, and you love them and they’re part of you then go for it! Especially if you love strapless dresses! I also have tattoos, however I personally plan on trying to cover them. It’s all beautiful work and they’re not ugly or distasteful or anything but, I feel like my style has changed a lot over the years. I have tried derma blend but it didn’t work at all. Dermablend looks great if you take a picture, but in person it’s just not very good. But I think if you are proud and you love your tattoos absolutely show them! I was looking at YouTube and I searched brides with tattoos and I was so inspired that it almost made me want to show my tattoos. I guess I’m still kind of debating if I’m going to show them or not. Who knows, if I find the right dress then we’ll see.

.... And as far as your family goes, just tell them too bad and tell them that they had their chance to wear what they wanted at their own wedding.

View Quoted Comment Omg I’m so glad you mentioned that part about the sleeves and them clashing with the tattoos underneath. I was just watching an episode of Say Yes to the Dress and I noticed a tattooed girl on there trying on a long sleeved dress and it just did not look as good. It was still a very pretty dress regardless and she looked great, but the first thing you see is the “messiness” of the sleeves and tattoos together. That’s my primary concern for a long sleeved dress, it might look too “busy” - something i explained to my mom and she actually agrees with me! 😊

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I think tattoos look best either 100% covered up, with absolute fabric sleeves (I considered this, but I think I would melt at our July wedding) or they need to be 100% exposed. Lace and what not just makes it look messy and you can't appreciate the beauty of your tattoos (which are works of art, no matter what the haters say).

I think I saw that same episode! Was it the gal with the pink/purple hair????

View Quoted Comment YES, it was that episode! So you know exactly what I’m talking about. My tattoos aren’t spaced out like hers were, they’re more of a true “sleeve”, but when she put that champagne/gold-colored long sleeved dress on, all I could see was the messiness of the sleeves and it just didn’t look appealing to me at all! The dress I am leaning towards right now is this simple mermaid gown for a beach wedding 😃 I definitely don’t want to pick a dress that will clash with anything else going on.

It’s so hard when you want a specific style and your mom disagrees.
You seem to know exactly what you want which is great so I would really stick to that. I also agree that sleeveless looks so good when you have tattoos.
Is your mom coming with you to try on dresses? Is she paying for your dress?

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Oh my gosh, I think that gown will look AMAZING with tattoos. It is so elegant and "simple" - I think it will create a really beautiful contrast with your sleeves and will allow your sleeves to really pop.

View Quoted Comment Hi, Anais! Thank you for your kind words . she is coming with me definitely, but I will be paying for my dress! My parents have been kind enough to pay for the majority of the wedding so I told them that I would handle the dress. This way, I have even more of a justification to get the gown that I like (if I need one) 😉

View Quoted Comment Thank you so much, those are my thoughts exactly! I will probably do a veil and some nice statement jewelry since the dress itself doesn’t have much to it in terms of beading, lace, etc. but other than that, my tattoos will be on full display! ☺️ I have seen some other mermaid gowns that look pretty too, but this one has had my eye on it for a long time. I originally wanted to do this long sleeved a-line Hayley Paige gown but the sleeves on it are just toooooo busy and wouldn’t look that great (in my opinion) 😬😬😬

This is my dress. My sleeve is being finished in October, so it will be a complete sleeve from wrist to shoulder for the wedding. I had put off having it done because I was being lazy, but I realized the empty space on my arm was driving me nuts when I looked at my arm laying next to a wedding dress - lol it’s so weird how certain things become unbearable.

View Quoted Comment That pink Hailey Paige is STUNNING.

View Quoted Comment Yes I was gonna say if you pu for your own then your mom can’t put pressure on you or try to guilt you into a dress you don’t want!
If during your appointment your mom keeps wanting a sleeve dress you could always put one on just for her and that way she’ll see that you’re not comfortable in it and you look better in something you love!
I had the opposite issue, I wanted a sleeve dress and my mom did not like my dress when I showed her the picture of it before the appointment. I was super worried when I tried it on and loved it and my mom had some issues with the sleeves because she doesn’t like lace. I had my sister there and the consultant to calmed her concerns and she saw how much I loved the dress. She was completely fine with me choosing that dress and also really liked it when I picked it up from the store once it came in.It was so nerve wracking because we have different styles but she really came around once she saw how much I loved the dress!

View Quoted Comment Omg that is SO pretty. I love your dress and your work! I think it all looks amazing together, the silhouette of the dress is so flattering, too. ☺️ I know what you mean about the empty space... my right forearm didn’t have anything on the underside for SO long and I finally got it filled in last year. I think it’ll look wonderful when it all comes together! 💗💗💗 So pretty!! 😍

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Thank you It is all super sentimental work.

I would love to see pics of your work and of your dress once you get it!!!!