My Brother Is Furious Because I Asked Him to Remove a Specific Tattoo for My Wedding

A woman took to Reddit to share her story about her brother. He had always been the guy with the wild look: one day sporting a mullet, the next a buzz cut, and maybe even a mohawk after that. Bright hair colors, facial piercings, and a body covered in tattoos were just his style. Normally, she was all for it—it was his body, after all. But now, with her wedding coming up, things were a bit different.

They were planning a beach wedding, and her brother was one of the groomsmen.

“I literally do not care what hairstyle he has or that his piercings and tattoos will be visible. My only request is that he covers one specific tattoo. When my brother was in college, he unconsciously got a woman’s privates tattooed on his chest, ” shared the sister. Yes, a full-on image.

Given the beach setting, the groomsmen would be wearing slightly open button-down shirts, which meant the tattoo would be visible. She asked him if he could cover it just for the wedding, but he got super offended and threw the “my body, my choice” line at her. Now, he was saying he wouldn’t attend the wedding if he had to cover it.

She accepted it, but still something felt off.

She explained that she understood it was his body, but she really didn’t want her guests staring at that very tattoo during her wedding, nor did she want to look back at her wedding photos and see it. While her family was used to it, her fiancé’s family would likely be shocked or even offended. Her brother called her a bridezilla and said she was being unreasonable.

She went on to clarify that it wasn’t even her who chose the groomsmen’s outfits. Her fiancé had decided on the casual beach attire with their shirts only two buttons unbuttoned, thinking it would cover the tattoo. However, the tattoo was right between her brother’s pecs lengthwise, so about a third of it, including the most obvious part, was still visible.

The woman emphasized how close she and her brother had always been, which made his reaction all the more confusing.

She couldn’t imagine getting married without him there, and was surprised he’d be willing to miss her wedding over this. They had even offered a compromise: all the groomsmen could either completely button their shirts or wear undershirts. But now that her brother knew these options were to cover his tattoo, he felt they were censoring his freedom of expression.

She also mentioned that there wouldn’t be any little kids at the wedding, but there would be a few teenagers under 18. In the end, she found herself caught between respecting her brother’s choice and ensuring her wedding was as she envisioned, without causing a scene or offending anyone. What do you think? What would you do?

People stood by her side.

• “Asking him to cover up an illustration of a woman’s private part is completely reasonable.” VirgilThe2nd / Reddit

• “You’re not demanding that he remove his piercings. You’re not demanding that he have ‘normal’ hair. You’re not demanding he cover up all of his tattoos. You are requesting that he cover up a vulgar tattoo for 1 day only. One day.” reallynah75 / Reddit

• “You are asking him to cover up an explicit image during your wedding; that is a reasonable ask.” lc_2005 / Reddit

• “It’s not a tattoo that has deep spiritual meaning for him, and you’re not asking him to cover up or change his look in any other way. It’s just to avoid the explicit image in your wedding pics.” grecianviolet / Reddit

What do you think? Before you go, make sure to read another article about a single mom who needs money and whose mother refused to babysit her kids while she works full-time.