Post # 1

Member
11 posts
Newbee
Hi Ladies!
We are eloping in Sorrento, Italy in December.
My dress was a dream come true when I tried it on. It was brand new in the shop, and they let me buy it off the floor, rather than waiting to order it. Our engagement is only 2 months, so that point was critical.
Now I am contemplating my decision to get a dress that has so much fabric, especially satin.
I can’t decide if I should mail it over before we go, if I should pack it in a carry on and guard it with my life, OR if I should get something more manageable to travel with.
I have found some beautiful, fun options on Missguided, Bloomingdales, etc.
We are having a reception back home next year.
Let me know what you think, or what you have done!
xx
Post # 2

Member
26 posts
Newbee
Get a 66″ Wally Bag and take your dress with you on the plane! Do not ship your dress; that is the easiest way for it to be lost or stolen.
I am getting married in Mexico and bought a 66″ Wally bag – all of my shoes/accessories and even my FH’s stuff is going in it.
Post # 3

Member
837 posts
Busy bee
We went 2 weeks before our wedding so I rolled my taffeta A-line with chapel train into a medium sized hard sided suitcase and cheked it. We we arrived I steamed it. On the way back I rolled it into a carryon sized hardsided suitcase. The suitcase size did not seem to make a difference for the condition of the dress.
Post # 4

Member
1124 posts
Bumble bee
The plane allowed me to carry on my dresses (yes I had 2, wedding and reception dress) in the garment bag, I picked a taffeta dress and it did not wrinkle at all! It was annoying to carry around but worth it, traveling back I packed it but you have to make sure to have enough extra space in order to do so. Just call ahead and see if the airline requires anything special for traveling with a gown.
Post # 5

Member
662 posts
Busy bee
rinehaj3211 : I eloped to Hawaii with two gowns. No guests haha! I checked one gown in a giant suitcase and had a dry cleaner steam it out there. Then I carried on the other gown eventually rolling it in a giant nylon duffle that went in the overhead. Everyone is very nice to you when they see a gown. Do you have airline status? Do you have priority boarding or are you going first class? What airline? I am a frequent flyer and have priority boarding with united. The flight attendants offered me their closet but the overhead was much more roomy.
Post # 6

Member
5020 posts
Bee Keeper
Last month I traveled straight across the USA with my dress and grooms suit carefully packed in a garment bag as a carry on. I felt this was the best way to ensure safe delivery. We also packed a small hand held steamer. We had zero issues.
ETA: I used the same Wally garment bag as the first poster mentioned. Best price I found was on Amazon.
Post # 7

Member
9207 posts
Buzzing Beekeeper
rinehaj3211 : I took my dress from Australia to the USA via three flights. This is the advice I got:
– always pack it in your hand luggage and in a hard shell bag for safety. I had a jacket get soaked in an overhead bin due to someones duty free alcohol leaking. Better to be safe than sorry.
– pack your dress inside out (to prevent damage) and if inspected by tsa ask them to put on clean gloves before handling the dress (because the just inspected 12 peoples shoes with those gloves on etc).
-tsa may want to run it the actual dress (out of the bag) through the x ray machine if it is embellished. You can refuse this, especially if you don’t want your Fiance to see the dress before the wedding. Ask that it be hand searched and you can request a private area (because your dress is a valuable item which can make it a target for bag theft).
– be prepared to have it steamed on arrival
– be prepared to have to store it in the overhead bin. Most airlines do not have closests any longer (even for first class, a lot of the new seats/pods have hooks/spots at your seat to store jackets) and unless you have a ticket for that class they are well within their rights to refuse to hang your dress. You are also not entitled to take up a whole bin so don’t expect it. Be pleasant and accept anything that is offered but remember other passengers do not have to respect your oversized cabin baggage and if they want their bag in the bin above their seat they can. Most people are accommodating but be prepared for if they are not.
– be prepared to have to (gate) check it, which is why it is better to have it in a hard shell case that fits the airlines cabin baggage regulations. Oversized items do not have to be accommodated and it is up to the staff’s discretion to allow a garment bag onboard. Getting onboard early can also help with this as they do seem to have a first in best dressed attitude.
Post # 8

Member
3821 posts
Honey bee
Just take it with you. Check your carry on allowance and see if you can have a garment bag, or put it in a suitcase and just steam it at your destination. If taking it carry on tell the flight attendants it’s your wedding dress and they’re usually going to try and help you with the best storage option. Sending it by mail seems way more risky and stressful! And it seems a shame to not wear your dream dress for the ceremony. I’m sure it’ll be fine on a plane.
Post # 9

Member
340 posts
Helper bee
When we went to Hawaii for SIL wedding she just took her big poofy wedding dress in a garment bag and the staff was more than happy to hang it up front for the flight. Check if that’s an option!
Post # 10

Member
11 posts
Newbee
lindsmsad : thank you for suggestion! I feel a lot better about this. 🙂
Post # 11

Member
11 posts
Newbee
j_jaye : this was super helpful! thank you so much for being so thorough. xx
Post # 12

Member
459 posts
Helper bee
I carried mine on in the David’s Bridal bag and they hung it in first class for me. It was gathered lace so I didn’t have to worry about wrinkling, luckily.
They told me they had a recent bride who left her gown on the plane – and didn’t come back for it! Wonder what happened with that one…
Post # 13

Member
94 posts
Worker bee
rinehaj3211 : If you DO decide to fly with your dress, I would *STRONGLY* advise you to splurge for the upgrade to first class. If the dress is large and you want it to be handled appropriately, you need to be first on the plane, talk to stewardess & have them assist you in putting it in an overhead or first class closet.
I flew in August with a huge tulle ballgown dress (in double garmet bags) and thought I’d just upgrade to priority – the morning of, I realized that priority boarding only gets you to board with Zone 4 or something. After reading a few articles online about flying w wedding dress, I bit the bullet and did a first class upgrade.
I was the 3rd person on the plane. Unfortunately the plane was very small so the first class closet was TINY. While the flight attendant was eager to help me, the closet was too small, she cleared it out as best she could & then I shoved my dress inside (cringing the entire time!). After the entire flight was seated, before take off, I noticed a first class seat was empty. I nicely *KEY WORD IS NICELY!* asked the flight attendant if we could put my dress in the empty seat. She obliged. And she even got a seatbelt extender for the dress (it was that puffy).
I will be really honest, I have never ever flown first class, probably never will again. But upgrading was 100% worth it in my opinion… that first class flight attendant’s entire job was to make sure everyone in 1st class was happy. There were children blantantly blocking the aisle while seatbelt sign was on, and she was apologizing to the parents “oh I hate to be a meanie…”. LOL, in coach, the flight attendants would have been a lot more curt with their request. There was pretty nothing she was about to say no to.
I dunno, I have high anxiety and I just wanted the peace of mind and not to deal with some nightmare scenario so I just chalked up the expense to wedding expenses. At that point, I was throwing down $175 to get my hair done on the wedding day, so it just seemed like we were burning money at that point.