Posted by Meaghan Cody

Recently we have had a few clients and friends ask us lots of questions about traveling with your wedding gown! So we have decided to revisit a post from last year about the ins and outs of traveling with your gown. Traveling with your wedding gown can be extremely stressful whether you are driving, flying, or headed on a cruise. We have created a list of tips for traveling with your wedding gown which will hopefully address some of those questions you might be asking yourself.

Traveling in the Car:

Start by stuffing your dress with tissue. Non-Acid tissue that is, and a dress form if you can. Then, zip it up in a garment bag and hang it in your backseat with the bodice facing the door of the car and the rest of the dress laid out across the back seat.

Traveling by Ship:

You would want to do the same thing as you would if you were traveling by car. When boarding the ship, you can just carry your garment bag on board with you and then hang it in your room!

Traveling by Plane:

When traveling by plane, the last thing you want to do is check your dress! We suggest you pack your dress in a garment bag like above and then carry it on the plane. Most of the time you can ask the flight attendant to hang it in first class. But in case that is not an option you should place the garment bag in a hard sided suitcase that would fit in the overhead compartment.

Shipping your Dress:

If you plan on shipping your dress make sure that you use an overnight carrier that sells insurance. Ensure that you purchase the insurance and receive a tracking number. Ask your bridal salon if they will stuff your dress with a dress form and non-acid tissue and place it in a box that they have. After that wrap it in plastic and then with bubble wrap and place it in the box the shipping company provides. We’ve had several brides ship their dresses without any issues whatsoever…just make sure you ship it to your venue the week prior to the wedding in case for whatever reason there is a delay with the venue receiving it.

Getting the Wrinkles Out:

Once you arrive to your destination you want to take your dress out of the garment bag as soon as your can and let it hang. More than likely you will have some wrinkles to remove. You can hang your dress in the bathroom while you take a hot shower, that way the steam can help some of the wrinkles fall out. Target has a small steamer that works wonders! If you are steaming your dress yourself, wrap a towel around the head of the steamer to prevent water spots. Or your can find a professional dry cleaning service and ask them to professionally steam it. The concierge at your hotel will know of a reliable cleaner to send you to. Also, depending on your gown’s fabric, your gown may need to be professionally steamed and we wouldn’t recommend steaming it yourself…best way to know if you should try steaming it yourself or not is to ask your gown store what their recommendation is. For example, if your gown is mostly silk then we definitely recommend taking it to a professional cleaner for steaming.

Happy Wedding Dress Travels!