WEDDING TATTOOS

Classic Couple tattos

There are many traditional and nontraditional ways to show you love someone. The mutual tatto used to be one of the most rebellious, but these days, matching designs are not difficult to spot, and they no longer carry the heavy stigma they once did.

Recently, traditional artwork has become the choice of many couples. With the resurrection of Sailor Jerry tatto designs and other classic Americana symbols including the rose, the skull and crossbones, the classic red heart with the arrow and even bird tattos, traditional designs are popular once again.

What Do Couples tattos Say?

The most basic couples tatto will simply have the name of the beloved. Other love tattos include:

• The birthday of the tattoed person's counterpart
• A saying they enjoy together, such as "Love Conquers All"
• Lyrics from their personal song
• A symbol of the love they have found, such as Kanji tattos with meanings like "Love", "Adoration" or "Soulmate"

What About the Kids?

When couples are entering into a relationship where one or both parties have children, a loving display of the child or children's names may be incorporated into the design. As couples have more children, they may choose to add the names of the new arrivals onto existing couple tattos.

Celebrities Couples with tattos

Throughout the years,Hollywood's hottest couples have proclaimed their undying love with matching tattos. Check out these celebrities with tattos proclaiming their undying love.

• Angelina and Billy Bob Thorton got each other's names tattoed on their arms. Unfortunately, the relationship did not last.
• Britney Spears and Kevin Federline got matching dice tattos following their private wedding. Although the marriage ended in divorce, at least there's no need for laser removal with a matching design like this.
• Eddie Murphy and Mel B (Scary Spice) each tattoed the name of the other on their bods. Mel's tatto was on her hipbone and Eddie's was never officially documented. This relationship also didn't work out, but there has been no word on whether either former partner underwent laser removal or some other alteration.
• Johnny Depp once had "Winona Forver" tattoed on his upper arm; he has since had it altered it to read "Wino Forever" due to the relationship's demise.
• Rap diva Eve and her man, Stevie J., have matching tattos. His says "Sleazy" and hers reads "Sleazy's Girl".
• Dean McDermott has "Truly Madly Deeply Tori" tattoed on his arm in honor of his wife, Tori Spelling. McDermott also has a portrait of Tori inked on his left arm.
• David Beckham and wife Victoria (Posh Spice) have matching tattos that read "I am my beloved's, my beloved is mine" in Hebrew. David also has Victoria's name tattoed in Hindu on his inner arm while Victoria has David's initials inked on her wrist.
• Marc Anthony recently had "Jennifer" tattoed on the inside of his wrist. Critics poke fun - after all, he is her third husband. Maybe he'll beat the odds.

Proceed With Caution

If you have made your choice to get matching tattos, you will not likely be influenced by friends and family. That does not make you or them right or wrong. The bottom line is that you want this ink and so does your partner. So get it! Just go into the situation with your open eyes.

• Try to choose a symbol that you both like rather than simply inking names. This way, if things don't pan out the way you thought they would, you will always have that symbol with you as a reminder of that time in your life, but you won't have to worry about the embarrassment or expense involved with removing a name.
• Pick a saying or quote that defines what is unique about your partnership.
• Pick animal tattos that express the nature of your romance - a butterfly - a lovebird or any other animal that has special significance to the two of you.
• If you simply must use formal birthnames, consider inking them in another language, such as Japanese, Hindu or Hebrew.
• Consider creating your own design. A tribal angel holding a heart, a traditional pinup girl and matching soldier or some other form of "his and hers" tattos are all great design ideas that will express your unity as a couple without the need for removal if the relationship doesn't last.