Travel with Dress?

MaggieB83 · May 2011

I'm an out of town brides traveling to NOLA from NYC. My wedding is in 2 weeks, and I need to decide whether to bring my dress with me on the plane or ship it there. The hotel said they were "a little bit nervous" about me shipping the dress there, and we don't know anyone else who lives there. The other option is to bring the dress with me on the plane. Has anyone dealt with this before? What did you decide to do?

oohsnapash · May 2011

Personally I would carry it on the plane with me, at least it'll never leave your sight!!

Queen Jane · May 2011

I would bring it on the plane. We are driving in from Houston and I intend to have it with us. I would be wary of shipping it also.

meganb1977 · May 2011

I've heard sometimes the airlines will help you out and they have somewhere they can hang your dress for you if you carry it on the plane. If you need, your hotel should be able to help you find somewhere to get your gown pressed that will give you a one-day turnaround or quicker.

MaggieB83 · May 2011

Thank you!!!

phunluvin82 · May 2011

My mom just flew down here with my dress literally 2 days ago. I was nervous to ship it b/c I've had some mail issues here in NOLA in the past. My mom was nervous to fly with it b/c she was afraid the airline wouldn't allow it and would try to force her to check it. I told her just to raise hell if she had to and they'd let her take it on...my FI does this with his (very valuable) guitar all the time.

It turned out fine...the airline didn't give her any problems with taking the dress on the plane, and the attendants hung it in the coat closet in first class. She was stressing all week for nothing!

eamcardle · May 2011

I flew from NY to New Orleans with my dress. I would definitely call the airline in advance and see if there is a closet somewhere on board. I would strongly consider upgrading yourself to first class if you can do it. It was sold out when I tried.

I don't mean to scare you and I would still risk flying with my dress, but I had a pretty traumatic -- though funny in hindsight -- experience on Continental. There was no room in the closet because of a wheelchair and I got the nastiest flight attendent who wouldn't help me at all. She told me, "for the next time [implying this would not be my only wedding], shops will ship your dress." I ended up putting my dress on top of bags above my head and was totally freaked out. But my dress was fine. You have 2 weeks to let it hang properly and you can have it steamed again in New Orleans (mine didn't even need to be steamed).

I will add that my bridesmaids and mom had lovely flying experiences - people were totally accomodating and nice. I just had a tough time, but it worked out in the end. Generally, people are super nice and realize you are flying with your wedding dress. And if you want a good laugh, I can send you a copy of the letter I wrote to Continental about my flight experience. Good luck!

phunluvin82 · May 2011

That is strange...my mom flew Continental also, and didn't fly first class. But, the closet was completely empty so they didn't have a problem helping her out. I suppose if there had been a wheelchair, or a lot of first class passengers with garment bags, she could have been in a bind. She must have gotten lucky that the closet wasn't being used for anything else!

MaggieB83 · May 2011

Thanks for the advice, everyone! I called the airline in advance and they said that they can't guarantee there will be space in the closet since it depends on the flight attendants, etc. but that usually they're very accommodating. I think it's too risky to ship it, and I'd rather take my chances with it getting a little wrinkled and just getting it steamed when I'm there (since I arrive Wednesday and my wedding isn't until Saturday).

NOLAbrideinDC · June 2011

I shoved my dress in my carry on and got it steemed when i got to NOLA. It worked out great.

Travel with Dress?

Re: Travel with Dress?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards