Perhaps the simplest design for a wedding band ring is your spouse’s name. If the name is too long to wrap around your finger, you may want to choose a shortened version or nick name that means something special to the two of you. Choose a font that is simple; European calligraphy or a font with thick, heavy lines will bleed together quickly and become hard to read. Choose a font with slender lines and easily read letters. Cursive fonts are fine as long as the name is short enough to accommodate the loops. For print names, you may also choose to get the name in all capital letters.
The claddagh is an ancient Celtic symbol of commitment, friendship and love. Celtic women used to wear the rings with the point of the heart facing their lowest knuckle to symbolize undying love for their husbands. Friends used to exchange them as a show of loyalty, wearing the point of the heart facing the middle knuckle.
The basic claddagh design consists of a heart held in two delicate hands and topped with a crown. The crown symbolizes loyalty, the hands friendship and the heart love. This design is delicate enough to fit on a finger as a tattoo and can be bulked up enough to be masculine.
If you and your spouse share a particular faith, you may want to get tattoos that show that faith as well as your commitment to each other. A ring of Celtic knots interspersed with crosses inside circles would be good for a Christian couple, as would a scrolled design with an Icthus fish in the center. Jewish couples may want to include the Star of David in the design, either in a series of interlocking stars or as a ring center. Pagan couples have any number of designs to choose from. Heterosexual couples may choose to have the god symbol, a full moon crowned with a sideways crescent, on the husband and the goddess symbol, a full moon between waxing and waning crescents, on the wife.