is it ok to show off your tattoos at a friends wedding?

VanessaYvonne

Hi, I am getting ready to attend my good friends wedding, which I will also be working at. Example, setting up the flower arrangments, and being the go to person when something goes wrong. No Im not in the bridal party, just attending and working the wedding. What should I wear? Also, is it ok for me to show off my beautiful tattoo work on my legs?

16 years ago

Dressing

13 replies

Latest reply was from Angie

Anonymous

How could you not show the tattoos, they seem to be in a place where the world can see them. If they are part of you and how you present yourself to the world, I would imagine that you are accepted and loved, as is, by your friends and family.
You refer to the work as beautiful, which says that you believe they are nice and tastefully done, no monsters or things that would scare the children, or big Mike Tyson face tatoos it sounds. In my humble opinion beautiful tattos on your leg are totally acceptable.
Ofcourse Angie is our style guru and I'm sure she will weigh in on this when she gets back to the forum.

16 years ago

VanessaYvonne

Member

Thank you!! That puts my mind a little more at ease...
I think I could always wear a long skirt or long dress. Or even go with a super cute pair of my boots that would cover the tattoo work on my legs. I just don’t know if those ideas are appropriate for the occasion. I really know nothing about fashion, fashion trends, or what I can get away with at a wedding. It’s a formal wedding being held at a ritzy golf coarse, and don’t want to offend anyone. My tattoos are cherry blossoms that travel from my ankle up and around my leg, so it’s not the art work I’m really worried about, it’s more of the bride and her family. They are very tradition, and I don’t want to offend her and or her family. And because my husband and I are friends of the groom, (and we don't know the bride very well) I really am worried that it wouldn't be appropriate to show the work off... What to do? oh, what to do?

16 years ago

Anonymous

Yes I'm sure Angie will be back with great wisdom on the subject.

16 years ago

cciele

Veteran

Have you asked your friend and his fiancee? I think that might be the safest solution. I personally wouldn't mind seeing tats, but as you say, the bride and family are traditional.

16 years ago

VanessaYvonne

Member

I have asked the bride and groom to be if they would mind...but I never really got a straight answer out of either one of them.

16 years ago

shana

Veteran

Hmmm, I might think that their hesitation in giving you a straight answer might be an indication that they would mind. I mean, if it wasn't an issue, wouldn't they immediately say "no problem". I think it's very thoughtful of you to consider their feelings on the matter.

16 years ago

Michelle

(website)

Veteran

I agree with Shana, the hesitation seems to indicate that they'd rather you covered the dress up. Fortunately it looks like you might have a way to do that. Since you say the wedding is formal, i'm thinking a formal long dress might be the very thing! Usually cocktail-length dresses are preferred at weddings, but if this is really black tie than long is likely your best bet.
But ultimately I recommend the same as the others...Defer to Angie!

16 years ago

VanessaYvonne

Member

This is were it gets more complicated and confusing for me, the bride to be is super formal and traditional, but her bridesmaids are all wearing shorter cocktail-length chiffon dresses. And I agree with you both, and thank you for bringing that to my attention, if they wouldn't have had a problem with it they would have spoken up right away and said so. But I am worried that if I go with a longer formal type dress, I will look out of place. Or will a pair of my boots look more out of place? I just don’t get all these fashion do's and don'ts....especially for wedding etiquette.

16 years ago

Dawn

(website)

Active Member

Perhaps you could mention it to them again but in a different way, perhaps something like: "I'm thinking of covering my tattoos up for your wedding, would you prefer if I do this?" as they probably didn't want to upset you if you asked them for a straight yes or no answer to "Do you want me to cover my tattoos".

If you are going to cover your tattoos up, you might look into tattoo cover-up makeup. My housemate has a number of tattoos and she covers them with foundation and set it with powder. Or if you wished to cover them with clothes, perhaps look for a dress you could wear with patterned hose or tights.

16 years ago

Michelle

(website)

Veteran

For a super formal wedding with a traditional bride, I wouldn't recommend boots. That generally isn't a very formal look and most certainly isn't a traditional choice. A simple long dress would stand out less than a cocktail look with boots, in my opinion.
Dawn may be onto something with the makeup, if you think it could successfully cover the tats and if you would prefer to wear a cocktail-length dress. Again, though, Angie will surely have feedback on this.
As for the bridesmaids, it's pretty normal for them to wear cocktail-length dresses.

16 years ago

shiny

Veteran

When is the wedding, and what is the season? If it's going to be a colder season like winter, wearing opaque hose with a cocktail dress will solve the problem. And in that case, really dressy boots might work too - they have to be dressy though (a delicate heel, pointy toe, maybe suede). But I wouldn't wear the boots if it was hot; that would look odd to me.

If it's going to be hot, then go for a long gown - maxi dresses (while more casual than what you would wear to a wedding) are so in right now, I really don't think you will look out of place.

Actually if it was a daytime wedding in a casual locale - like the beach - a maxi dress might be just fine. If nighttime wedding in a formal locale, then you can probably safely pull out all the stops.

We need more details.

16 years ago

Ele

(website)

Active Member

Hmm, I'll echo the others and say that boots aren't really the best option. In my opinion, boots are casual and smart casual, and can never really look "formal", no matter how you wear them. If you definitely want to cover the tattoos, a nice long dress is probably the way to go.

I will say, though, that you are SO SWEET to even be worried about this. You're a much nicer person than me! I don't have any tattoos, but I consider them so much part of a person that I can't imagine hiding them for someone else's comfort. I'm also not a bride (never have been) but I also can't imagine asking someone else to cover their tattoos up, especially if they were being so nice as to work at my wedding! (Then again, I really like laid-back weddings; I even think it's draconian to ask bridesmaids to wear matching dresses!)

16 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I'm going to be a spanner – which actually doesn’t happen too often on this forum!

The bride and groom know you WITH the tattoo, right? If this is the case, as long as you pull out all the stops and look appropriately dressy, polished and classy for the occasion, you’ll ooze with style with your leg tattoo. It’s who you are. This is a celebration of love! This is not a conservative job interview.

16 years ago

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