Transporting a Wedding Dress
Safely and Crease Free!

Getting married abroad is a great money saver and an exciting time for both the wedding couple and guests.

But how do you get your wedding dress to your destination wedding safely and securely?

Will it get lost in transit?
Will it get crushed or damaged?

Carry or Check In your Wedding Dress?

• It is ALWAYS better to carry your wedding dress on the plane as hand luggage.
  Most scheduled airlines have closets either in first/business class or those used by the cabin crew and they will let you hang your dress for the duration of the flight if you ASK FIRST.

• If you are travelling to highly popular destination wedding spots like the Caribbean, you may find there is competition for hanging space.
  In this case, surround your dress with acid-free tissue paper, pack it in a zipped garment bag, fold over any train and place in the overhead locker.

  Tip: You will need to choose a lightweight dress with few layers if you want to carry it onto a plane. Cabin baggage is restricted by size and if you try to hang a dress with delicate folds it will either get crushed in any hanging closet or worse, you will be asked to put it, unprotected, in the hold.

• Budget airlines, for example flights from the UK to hot spots in the Mediterranean like Cyprus, will not have any first or business class cabins and space may be limited even in overhead lockers.

  You may be forced to consider checking your dress in with the rest of your luggage but you run the risk of it getting lost or even damaged in transit.

• For complete peace of mind, we advise that if check-in is your only choice, you opt to send your wedding dress by courier. Use a reputable courier like DHL or Fedex.

  Pack it carefully as if it were going in the aircraft hold and send it at least a week in advance so that you can check its safe arrival at your hotel.

• Note: There is another way to ensure your dress arrives - wear it on the plane! A little extreme perhaps and you will certainly need to clean your dress on arrival but you are almost certain to get some free champagne for entertainment value alone!

Crease Free Wedding Dress

It is inevitable that you will get some creasing when transporting a wedding dress.

Make sure you allow time to steam (and if necessary clean) your wedding dress on arrival at your destination.
Most big hotels will have a steaming facility in the hotel or can send out your dress to a specialist cleaner. Check beforehand.

Choose a crease resistant fabric for your dress like chiffon or charmeuse. These fabrics are light and cool plus they float and move with your body so are perfect for weddings in hot sticky climates.

Avoid a wedding dress with lots of layers as a) there is more to crease and b) you will be far too hot!

Alternative Methods of Transport

If travelling by car to your wedding destination you have peace of mind as the dress will be with you.

Pack your dress carefully in lots and lots of acid-free tissue paper (which will not damage the dress) and lay it flat, if possible, on the back seat of the car.

If you do not have a garment bag, pin two sheets on either side for protection.

The same care in packing your dress ready for transportation should be applied for other means of transport eg. trains.

Tip: Apply these tips for transporting a wedding dress to keep the groom's outfit safe too! And, of course, any attendants outfits.

After transporting a wedding dress carefully, should the worst happen and it be damaged or stained with no time to send it to the cleaners, make sure you have an emergency sewing kit and a bottle of Vanish handy. The first to make some essential minor repairs and the second to get any stubborn stains out.