If you are finding yourself stressed about getting your wedding dress to your destination Las Vegas wedding, fear not! Editor Jemma at the You Mean The World To Me destination wedding blog is here to help with a guest post on the topic.
With tips on what to look for in a wedding dress if you haven’t gone shopping yet, what to ask for when on board with your dress and what to do when you arrive at your destination, she’s got all your questions covered.
You’ve booked your venue, your wedding planning is well underway and then you suddenly think: “How am I going to take my wedding dress on a plane?” Well, never fear! Here’s some practical advice and top tips to get you started, with an action plan for taking your wedding dress on a plane.
 Two easy-travel wedding dresses to consider: Romance With Me Lace Dress and Molten MarvelÂ
The Dress
If you’ve not bought your dress yet, bear in mind that chiffon or silk dresses are more lightweight to carry and easier to pack for destination weddings, plus any little creases your dress might get will drop out pretty easily.
Beware Budget Airlines
When it comes to booking your flights for your wedding, consider that it might be worth spending a little bit more money so that you fly with an airline that is more flexible in terms of hold and hand luggage allowances. Many “budget” airlines have very strict rules on the size and specification of luggage.
Once you have your flights booked, speak directly to the airline for their advice in terms of taking a wedding dress on their aircraft as every airline has different policies.
Overhead bins: friend or foe? Photo: SuperJet/Flickr
Once Onboard
The safest route is to take your dress in the cabin with you. I wouldn’t recommend checking your wedding dress just incase your suitcase or luggage is delayed, ends up on the wrong flight or gets lost.
Hanging your dress — Some airlines will hang your dress bag up in the first class wardrobe if there is space (call ahead and ask the airline and ask if this is a possibility.) This option is more likely with summer destination weddings, if you are coming from a colder climate because there will be fewer passengers with coats to hang up.
There is the risk that the airline might say that they are unable to hang your dress up once you board the flight (even if their customer services team said it might be a possibility) and the air stewards may ask you to put your dress in the overhead bins.
Wedding dress box photo from The Beautiful Box Co.
Boxing your dress — If your airline can not guarantee that they will be able to hang your dress bag up for you and you are not keen on the idea that you might have to fold it in the overhead bins, check out the hand luggage size allowed on your flight and purchase a dress box. A dress box that fits to the hand luggage size specifications for your flight will ensure that your dress is packaged, easy to carry and you will know for definite that you will have no problems taking it on the flight as hand luggage.
Do also check if you can take one or two items on as hand luggage as you will most likely want a bag with you as well as your dress. Many low-cost airlines have strict rules about having one piece of hand luggage only and that the item you have must fit within their sizing rules.
Make sure that any wedding dress box that you buy comes with white acid-free tissue paper. Use the tissue paper to pack and protect the dress and to avoid creases.
Better dry cleaners sell wedding dress boxes with acid-free paper and they may even pack your dress for you. Your bridal shop may also have this service or know somewhere locally that they can suggest. You can also order destination wedding dress boxes online and find packing videos and guidance on YouTube.
Arriving in Las Vegas
When you arrive at your hotel, check your dress over and then hang it up (in its protective bag) to let any small creases fall out and to ensure that it doesn’t get knocked or marked before the big day.
Plan where you will hang your dress; maybe you won’t want it hanging in your room where your future husband could take a sneaky peek!
You can always turn the shower on hot in your hotel bathroom, close the door until the room becomes steamy and use the steam to help any creases to drop out of your dress. Make sure you hang the dress in a clean, dry area of the bathroom!
(Kelly here: there are a few people in the Las Vegas area who specialize in steaming your dress when it arrives. Debi at Fit for a Bride comes highly recommended and will even pick up your dress for you, although her location is very close to The Strip.)Â
If you need any further advice or inspiration for your destination wedding, then head on over to You Mean The World To Me!
Thanks for the lovely feature!
Would this same method work for a dress that has a lot of lace and beading detail? I’m afraid that the beading might snag the lace on the opposite side. Any advice? Thank you!