New Zealand Wedding Tattoos?

Question

I heard about a New Zealand tradition where the bride and groom tattoo their spouses name around their ring finger instead of having an actual engagement ring. Has anyone ever heard about this or know more about it? Also, what are some other good ideas about "wedding tattoos"?

Answer 1

I've never heard of that, and I know a few people from New Zealand who would have probably mentioned it when me and my husband got our wedding bands tattooed. But if you tattooed a name like "BriZee", it would have to be pretty big to get the detail in the lowercase letters, like about 1/3" or more, which might look disproportionate on tiny fingers (and hard to cover up). Just the initials might be better.

As far as wedding band tattoos in general, it's hard to find a tattoo artist who works that small (using a single needle for any design other than a simple band) and who is willing to tattoo a finger, since tattoos there are unstable and unpredictable. Sometimes they don't "take" on the under side of your finger (cells regenerate too fast), sometimes they blow out (blur/ bleed) because it's hard to get it at the right depth, and sometimes they're a bit wobbly because it's impossible to get a perfect circle on an imperfect plane like a finger.

We designed our own, making them look like a stylistic version of our wedding rings, which we usually wear over the tattoo. The first place we went refused to do it and recommended someone else who works with small, intricate designs. The next place warned us of the unpredictability of finger tattoos and told us that she would do it only if we'd be ok with however it turned out (we were). In the end, she did a great job, but it didn't stay on the back side of our fingers and it usually takes 2-3 touch ups for it to really "take" there. My husband got his touched up but I'm too chicken to go through it again. Yeah-- did I mention it hurts like h**l? The finger is one of the most painful places to get a tattoo, esp your first one.

But for us, it was worth it, and we're very pleased. Make sure you call around or get recommendations for tattoo artists who are able to work that small, and if they don't mention all the cautions about finger tattoos, they probably just want your money and don't care how it turns out.

Good luck.

Answer 2

i think it's a great idea for the right couple--didn't know it was a tradition there. my husband can't wear his ring while he's working b/c it pinches his finger (he's blue collar) and so women still make eyes at him. i told him i want him to tattoo his ring for our anniversary and i think he will eventually. i got the idea from tommy lee, but no one has to know that! haha  i thought the claddaugh (sp) would be cool or an irish knot type design, but my name would be even coooooler

*sorry, celtic knot

*irish claddaugh (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claddagh_ri... love this! my husband says it's peagan but it's still awesome

*forgot this too...i had thought like a rope knot for my husband b/c that's where "tying the knot" came from during the middle ages or medieval times i think

Answer 3

There is no such tradition here in NZ, it's a pretty alternative concept. Infact I have never met someone with a wedding band/name tattooed on their finger. My partner is an electrician though and can't wear rings so we have looked into it. What we've read so far is that you can't get very good detail, if you get the bottom of the finger tattooed it will fade very quickly with all the wear and tear of skin and the top needs to be touched up every 2-5 years. We're still not too sure on it... we might save it for an anniversary thing. Anyway, hope that helps! Oh, and my fiance's account is logged on....Oops. :)

Answer 4

i don't know about tradition, but I have seen more and more people do this lately. I think it's neat and if I didn't have a deadly fear of needles I'd probably go for that instead of a normal wedding band.