Traveling With A Wedding Dress for Your Destination Wedding [Advice From a Bride]
Often times, I read on social media many brides who don’t know how to travel with their dress to their Destination Wedding. As a Destination Wedding bride myself, and a travel advisor for destination weddings, I know a thing or two about bringing your dress to your beautiful venue with minimal stress. I flew with my dress from Vermont to Hawaii [which is kind of a long way…] so buckle up as I go through several tips that helped me and expert advice from other brides & wedding vendors.
Tell Everyone You Are Bringing A Dress
Don’t be humble; Say it loud and proud. Your dress is precious cargo and you want it to arrive safely because it truly is irreplaceable and one of a kind. When I was at Logan Airport in Boston, I told TSA immediately as I jumped in line - don’t be shy! I told them: “This is my wedding dress. It has really easy to snag lace. If you must open it, can you open it in front of me and please don’t open in front of my soon to be husband.” ::points to grinning husband:: TSA didn’t even have to open it and were truly very gentle with my wedding dress. I also told the flight attendant at the check in desk to ask if there was a closet. ::There wasn’t:: But she wasn’t going to let me down. She told the other flight attendants about the dress and they made sure to find a safe place.
Be EXTRA nice to the flight attendants
Flight attendants have a tough job and aren’t even getting paid until the doors are closed. So giving them a little extra treat for their super helpful assistance goes a long way. A little goodie bag. A starbucks gift card. Even a thank you note. Flight attendants are more than willing to help with the extra appreciation.
Get a Sturdy Bag/Carry On
Dress designer, Ty-Alicia Ybarra, suggested the following advice for bridal dresses on airplanes: “Turn the dress inside out, put it inside a plastic garment bag, and then inside a cloth/heavy duty zipper bag. Fold it in third [or fourths] and squeeze as much air out of it as possible or roll it like a sleeping bag. Place it in a hard shell carry on and lay any accessories on top or in corners of the suitcase. Then steam it upon arrival. You’ll fit more than you think you can in there.” I personally, only used a wally bag and my flight attendant placed it over my carry on in it’s own overhead bin. She also closed the bin so no one else would use it.
Call Ahead of Time
It’s ALWAYS a good idea to call the airline ahead of time. They can usually tell you if there is a closet. One bride that flew Southwest gave her a free seat next to her for the dress to be safe and sound. [It’s worth a try but definitely not guaranteed]. You can also buy a seat for your dress as well if it’s within the budget and you can definitely guarantee it is safe.
Make It Steamy
Hanging it up at your hotel should be a priority when you get off the plane! Another bride, Kara, said they hung it up right away after it hung in the closet on the flight and there were no wrinkles. Easy peasy! A couple of destination wedding brides brought travel steamers with them, and one bride, Alexi, recommended hanging it in the bathroom while taking a shower to get steamy for any last minute wrinkles.
There are a lot of stressors with planning a wedding, but trusting the right experts will mitigate many. Having some answers to your most important questions [like how to travel with a wedding dress] should give you some peace and allow you to move forward in your planning, but if you either aren’t sure where to start or you just don’t have the time to get your destination wedding all figured out, I encourage you to schedule a free strategy session with me. Sometimes just talking with someone who has been there, done that, will make all the difference you need to get unstuck and move forward in your destination wedding planning.
