How to Travel with Your Wedding Dress

We at Simply Eloped understand how traveling with a wedding dress can be a stressful part of planning a destination wedding. No matter the budget you dropped on your dress, it’s important your attire look as clean, crisp and as perfect as possible for your big day. Here are our tips on how to travel with your wedding dress and ensure it’s looking perfect and pristine.

Carry-on vs. Checking In

When traveling by airplane, there will always be a risk of an airline company losing your luggage and that is a couple’s worst nightmare leading up to the days of your wedding. To alleviate any stress or risk there, we advise carrying your dress or tux on a plane vs checking the luggage. By carrying your dress on the plane, you have full control over it staying with you and getting lost in the shuffle of things. If you do choose this route, we advise putting the dress or tux in a thick attire bag to protect it. You can either tuck that away in your carry-on luggage or carry separately – up to you!

HOT TIP: If you choose to carry on your dress, many planes have garment closets so they can hang your garment bag. Space in the garment closet is first-come, first-served so if this is the avenue you’re hoping for, do your best to be the first to board!

Consider Shipping the Dress Straight to your Destination

As stated in the first tip, you always have the option of bringing your dress as carry-on but there’s risk there too. If babysitting your dress or tux through several legs of travel sounds stressful to you, we advise working with your hotel or Airbnb to ship your dress directly. If you’re ordering your dress online and you’re not worried about the fit, you can just put in the shipping details there. A big thing to consider when shipping directly is if there is an apartment or unit number. Be sure to ask your VRBO or Airbnb as soon as you’re able about unit and shipping information. If you’re shipping to a hotel, let the concierge know so they can keep a lookout.

Drive Not Fly!

If your destination is within driving distance, you may consider driving in lieu of flying. We would recommend weighing the cost and benefits of doing so – considering gas and time – but if this seems like an option that would bring you less stress, there are lots of benefits to driving. It’s by far the most secure way to travel with your important attire, not to mention you can bring more items and luggage this way.

Garment Care is Key

Once you arrive at your hotel or Airbnb, you’re going to want to hang the garment bags with the dress or tux still inside. For steaming, it’s easy to travel with a portable steamer. If you prefer not to haul a steamer, you can generally find a dress or dry cleaner who can service your garments. If you choose not to steam on your own, please note that the turnaround time to get your dress or tux prepared could take a few days to a full week. It’s great to call around and get cost and time estimates. If you’re short on time, your best bet is to steam yourself.

HOT TIP: If you’re staying in a hotel, they often offer steaming services so be sure to ask your concierge!

Your Peace of Mind should be Top of Mind

When determining the direction you want to head for getting your dress or tux to your destination, we would recommend choosing the option that brings you the least amount of stress and duress. There are already so many feelings around a wedding day, the last thing you want to be concerned about is whether or not your dress or tux will BE at your hotel or Airbnb and if it will be prepped and ready for you to look perfect on your big day. Determine which avenue brings you the most peace of mind, and do that.

Written by Janessa White

Janessa White is the co-founder of Simply Eloped and has helped thousands of couples plan elopements. As an expert in the field, she has been featured on Martha Stewart, Brides.com, Vox, and HuffPost. Janessa thinks elopements are the ultimate way to tie the knot.