Today I bring you something MAJOR!

Today is the day I get to introduce you to one heck of a lady!
It’s amazing how social networking plays such a HUGE part in connecting with potential ideas for posts and people like this lady..

A gorgeous bride-to-be whom goes by the name of RED. We got chit-chatting through Twitter – and there an online friendship began. From the red of her hair to the tips of her high-heels, this lady is not one to be missed. Red has her own pre-wedding blog where she posts about all of her wedding goings – over at Little Red Briding Hood. From her surprise bridal shower to visiting wedding fairs with her H2B, Red has quite a knack of making her wedding planning experiences into an epic story land!

As we got chattering more & more, Red stated she had a proposition for myself as the Marry Me Ink lady.. “I know it’s usually inked brides that are your bag petal, but how would you feel about a bride to be guest blogging for ya, GETTING body pretty?”.. Seriously – I SQUEALED with excitement! I had never been so excited about a proposition before!

With that in mind, here I shall hand you over to Lady Red herself.. Enjoy my lovelies!

“Search for ‘wedding tattoos’ on t’internet and a plethora of laser removal firms and clever cover-up creams saturate the screen. It seems us decorated brides are expected to hide our pride and joys for walking down the aisle. So why the hell would a girl book in for a beast of a back piece six months before her big day, one may ask? Because inked brides kick conventional ass, that’s why! 

Let me introduce myself before I babble any further. My name’s Red, I’m engaged, and I’m a tat-addict. Admiring the designs of beautiful, strong women has been a favoured past-time of mine since I was old enough to legally bear the needle myself. Like many admirers of embellished skin, I was lured into the world of tattoos with the appeal of expressing my tortured teenage soul through body art. A decade later, and through the other side of my adolescent angst (thank feck!), my love for the tattoo has sustained and blossomed. 

It’s strange to think that up until the 90s, tattoos, especially on the female form, hovered on the periphery of society. It wasn’t socially acceptable for women to lay their inked skin bare, often considered ‘unladylike’, and associated with society’s rebels, namely biker chicks and Vegas strippers. The industry was very much a man’s world. But in 1993, Jennifer Leroy graced Playboy’s centrefold showing off a visible tattoo to readers (does one ‘read’ Playboy?) for the first time, and by the end of the decade, artistic flesh really came into mainstream culture for women. Celebrities jumped on the inked band wagon, with one feisty female in particular rebelling against the tattoo taboo by publically displaying her ornate designs on the *shock horror* red carpet! The delectable Angelina Jolie, who surely is the source of every girl crush across the world, declared her love for Billy Bob Thornton via flesh. And while I’m not a huge fan of the a-lister’s choice of tattoo designs, I’m eternally grateful to her for igniting my initial curiosity and subsequent fascination of needle to skin which now features so heavily in my life.

Source: http://www.tattoovirtual.com

But even now, when many tattoo artists admit that more women grace their chair than men, us girls often tend to go for the dinkier designs. Stars, dolphins, foreign lettering, flowers….for some, a discreetly diminutive motif is the desirable, but for others (me included) once we dip our toe into that vast pool of ink, we graduate to the grander scale of pieces. And that’s where my journey has taken me. From losing my tat virginity aged 18 with an ickle rainbow on the bottom of my leg (because clearly my preferred choice, the ankle, would’ve been far too sore so I opted for a more meaty surface area) when I was petrified of needles, to my ambitious plans for a seventh in honour of my immense love for my future husband – I’m officially hooked!

When all I had was a mere rainbow and cluster of dark stars in my late teens I remember clarting on the aforementioned tattoo concealer as bridesmaid for my Mum, scared of the elders casting their disapproving peepers over my ‘ruined skin’. Not that it did much good as clearly these chemists haven’t quite cracked covering-up solid black ink! But for my own wedding the story couldn’t be more different. When I met my hubster-to-be eight years ago, not to over-share here, but he was totally turned on by my rocky edge and sprawling tattoos.  Unfortunately, despite my continual pestering, his appreciation of tattoos ends with me and he’ll forever be an unmarked canvas. So I’m having this back piece for the both of us…to represent our journey up til’ now, and the amazing days that lie ahead growing old together. 

Photograph of one of my six tattoos, my guardian angel.

The icing on the wedding cake is that I’m being inked up by none other than Kevin ‘The Captain’ Younger of Lucky Cat Tattoo Parlour (Glasgow). The reason it’s such an honour is because this legendary creator of amazingness is Simon-actual-Neil’s – lead singer of Biffy Clyro and all-round music marvel – tattoo artist of choice who’s covered him head to toe in envious tats. The mere mention of my hero and ultimate crush Mr Neil (sorry fiancé!) turns me into a sweaty mess. From the moment my roommate played me the song Questions and Answers in our first year of University many moons ago I’ve pretty much morphed into arguably one of their biggest fans. *Geek alert* dare I admit that only today did I pimp my new ride with a ‘Mon the Biff’ superfan sticker! And it’s their entire repertoire that’s filtered through my headphones while doing this post (a required writing ritual)! Not to mention the fact that Scotland’s greatest export penned one of the most gorgeous lyrics ever written, providing the focal point for my new tattoo…

“nothing lasts forever, except you and me”

                                                                                                Mountains, Biffy Clyro (Only Revolutions)

L-R Simon Neil (Biffy Clyro) with tattoo artist Kevin Younger (Lucky Cat Tattoo Parlour)
Source: Miss Frenchie via Frenchie Ooh La La

So on 4 February 2012, after three hours of needlework (does it ever get any less sore…?) a little piece of ‘us’ will be imprinted on me forever. Not in a creepy, werewolf/Twilight way (!!), but in the kind of way that shows a boy how much his girl loves him. And with the world’s bestest wedding blogs now proudly presenting beautified brides in all their tattooed glory – Marry Me Ink at the fabulous forefront – what better time than to shun the camouflage and keep on covering bare skin with art.

Can’t wait to share my wedding tat with all you deliciously decorated ladies. So til’ then just remember, tats are for life, not just for Christmas!

Red xo“

SEE!! Isn’t see AMAZING?!!!!  Leave Red lots of love! She is one fantastical lady! – Rach.XX