AceP - what did you end up doing with your dress?

[CJ2008]

I just did a search for "shipping wedding dress" and a previous post of yours came up.

I need to get my dress to Mexico, and I''m trying to decide the best way to do it. I keep going back and forth whether I should bring it with me on the plane or ship it. From that post, it looks like you were going to take it with you on the plane. How did it go?

By the way, if I ship it, the coordinator at my resort might be willing to accept the dress on my behalf, I would have to ask her.

 

[AceP]

i carried it on. the whole thing was pretty amusing. i had decided that''s what i was going to do. but when i went to the salon the week before the wedding to pick it up, i was stunned by the sheer puffiness of the thing. i was like, no way is this going to work. and, as you''ve seen from my photos, i did not have a particularly poofy dress. but there was enough crinoline from the knees down to practically make it stand up on its own. so, one day when my then-fiance was not home, i took the dress out of the dress shop bag and laid it across the bed. then, i took out the sturdiest non-luggage garment bag i had - this one was from nieman marcus, where i got my rehearsal dinner dress. (i hate nieman marcus; it''s way too snotty for me, but their garment bag saved my life.) so, i proceeded to shove - and i mean shove - the dress into the bag. at that point, there was no way the bag was going to zip up. so, i backed up, and flung my five-foot-four-inch self - like bodyslammed - on top of the garment bag. crude, but it worked. at that point i was able to fold the garment bag over itself to get away with carry-on. i carried it through the airport (like a baby, or a giant sausage - it was the only way i could carry it). the flight attendants were happy to let me hang it in the closet. and that was that. i honestly was amazed how easy it was, and i didn''t have to stress about shipping - or pay for it. i did ship boxes with our programs, placecards, welcome bags, etc.

how puffy is your dress?

 

[Loves Vintage]

AceP - I need to fly with my dress too, and I'm wondering why you didn't just take your dress in the white dress bag from the salon. I figured that's what I would do and then just ask in my nicest way if I could please hang it in the closet. I will also limit my carry-on bag to just one small back-pack, so as not to over-do it with taking up extra space.

Am I kidding myself with thinking the white bag is enough? Were you worried that the bag could get torn, etc?

Thanks for your help!!

And, thanks for asking the question, Claudianam. I wasn't going to give this a second thought.

 

[neatfreak]

I flew with my dress to CA from WI and it was no problem on either plane we took to hang it in the first class/steward closet. They were super accommodating on the plane. Just be nice and they will do whatever you need them to.

 

[AceP]

Date: 5/1/2008 3:57:06 PM
Author: Loves Vintage
AceP - I need to fly with my dress too, and I''m wondering why you didn''t just take your dress in the white dress bag from the salon. I figured that''s what I would do and then just ask in my nicest way if I could please hang it in the closet. I will also limit my carry-on bag to just one small back-pack, so as not to over-do it with taking up extra space.

Am I kidding myself with thinking the white bag is enough? Were you worried that the bag could get torn, etc?

Thanks for your help!!

And, thanks for asking the question, Claudianam. I wasn''t going to give this a second thought.

oh right - i should have addressed that. well, i wanted to carry it on, not check it. and no way would i have been able to carry that giant white salon bag on. it was much longer than a standard garment bag, and wider at the bottom, and it didn''t have the feature that allows you to fold it in half and hook the end over the hanger, if you know what i mean. does that answer your question?

 

[Loves Vintage]

Date: 5/1/2008 4:02:49 PM
Author: AceP

Date: 5/1/2008 3:57:06 PM
Author: Loves Vintage
AceP - I need to fly with my dress too, and I''m wondering why you didn''t just take your dress in the white dress bag from the salon. I figured that''s what I would do and then just ask in my nicest way if I could please hang it in the closet. I will also limit my carry-on bag to just one small back-pack, so as not to over-do it with taking up extra space.

Am I kidding myself with thinking the white bag is enough? Were you worried that the bag could get torn, etc?

Thanks for your help!!

And, thanks for asking the question, Claudianam. I wasn''t going to give this a second thought.

oh right - i should have addressed that. well, i wanted to carry it on, not check it. and no way would i have been able to carry that giant white salon bag on. it was much longer than a standard garment bag, and wider at the bottom, and it didn''t have the feature that allows you to fold it in half and hook the end over the hanger, if you know what i mean. does that answer your question?

Yes, I''m afraid it does.

So, you''re saying, they aren''t going to let me carry on the nice white bag and just hang it in the nice closet? How big is this closet, actually? I know it''s an airplane, but I just envisioned myself prancing on the plane, everyone smiling, I am the bride after all, right

, and letting me place my lovely dress in a full length, otherwise almost empty closet! Prancing, smiling, white bag . . . no?

 

[AceP]

Date: 5/1/2008 4:14:01 PM
Author: Loves Vintage

Date: 5/1/2008 4:02:49 PM
Author: AceP

Date: 5/1/2008 3:57:06 PM
Author: Loves Vintage
AceP - I need to fly with my dress too, and I''m wondering why you didn''t just take your dress in the white dress bag from the salon. I figured that''s what I would do and then just ask in my nicest way if I could please hang it in the closet. I will also limit my carry-on bag to just one small back-pack, so as not to over-do it with taking up extra space.

Am I kidding myself with thinking the white bag is enough? Were you worried that the bag could get torn, etc?

Thanks for your help!!

And, thanks for asking the question, Claudianam. I wasn''t going to give this a second thought.

oh right - i should have addressed that. well, i wanted to carry it on, not check it. and no way would i have been able to carry that giant white salon bag on. it was much longer than a standard garment bag, and wider at the bottom, and it didn''t have the feature that allows you to fold it in half and hook the end over the hanger, if you know what i mean. does that answer your question?

Yes, I''m afraid it does.

So, you''re saying, they aren''t going to let me carry on the nice white bag and just hang it in the nice closet? How big is this closet, actually? I know it''s an airplane, but I just envisioned myself prancing on the plane, everyone smiling, I am the bride after all, right

, and letting me place my lovely dress in a full length, otherwise almost empty closet! Prancing, smiling, white bag . . . no?

the way airlines are these days, you''ll be lucky if your plane leaves the ground!! (says someone who was recently stranded by the american air md80 debacle... another story altogether!).
but - seriously - if for no other reason, you can''t carry on the bridal salon bags just because they don''t have the fold-over feature and can''t get small enough. do you have your dress yet? my salon bag had sort of a built-in ballroom dress bottom - it flared out - that made it very unwieldy. that might not be true of all of them. but - you probably could try to just sneak it through - plenty of people carry on more than they should. i just happened to have that neiman marcus bag, and it was very sturdy, and much more compact, so i went for it. you could also have someone sew a loop on the salon bag so you can fold it over. i thought about that, too.

 

[Loves Vintage]

Oh, and, AceP, super-cute doggie, by the way! Is he or she a labradoodle? He looks like my neighbor''s dog. So much energy, it''s almost unbelievable to watch him! Is yours the same way?

 

[Loves Vintage]

Date: 5/1/2008 4:26:00 PM
Author: AceP

Date: 5/1/2008 4:14:01 PM
Author: Loves Vintage

Date: 5/1/2008 4:02:49 PM
Author: AceP

Date: 5/1/2008 3:57:06 PM
Author: Loves Vintage
AceP - I need to fly with my dress too, and I''m wondering why you didn''t just take your dress in the white dress bag from the salon. I figured that''s what I would do and then just ask in my nicest way if I could please hang it in the closet. I will also limit my carry-on bag to just one small back-pack, so as not to over-do it with taking up extra space.

Am I kidding myself with thinking the white bag is enough? Were you worried that the bag could get torn, etc?

Thanks for your help!!

And, thanks for asking the question, Claudianam. I wasn''t going to give this a second thought.

oh right - i should have addressed that. well, i wanted to carry it on, not check it. and no way would i have been able to carry that giant white salon bag on. it was much longer than a standard garment bag, and wider at the bottom, and it didn''t have the feature that allows you to fold it in half and hook the end over the hanger, if you know what i mean. does that answer your question?

Yes, I''m afraid it does.

So, you''re saying, they aren''t going to let me carry on the nice white bag and just hang it in the nice closet? How big is this closet, actually? I know it''s an airplane, but I just envisioned myself prancing on the plane, everyone smiling, I am the bride after all, right

, and letting me place my lovely dress in a full length, otherwise almost empty closet! Prancing, smiling, white bag . . . no?

the way airlines are these days, you''ll be lucky if your plane leaves the ground!! (says someone who was recently stranded by the american air md80 debacle... another story altogether!).
but - seriously - if for no other reason, you can''t carry on the bridal salon bags just because they don''t have the fold-over feature and can''t get small enough. do you have your dress yet? my salon bag had sort of a built-in ballroom dress bottom - it flared out - that made it very unwieldy. that might not be true of all of them. but - you probably could try to just sneak it through - plenty of people carry on more than they should. i just happened to have that neiman marcus bag, and it was very sturdy, and much more compact, so i went for it. you could also have someone sew a loop on the salon bag so you can fold it over. i thought about that, too.

I don''t have my dress yet! I haven''t even had my fitting yet!!! And, we''re leaving on May 28th!!!! My "salon" is a one woman show, and I do believe this one woman, when she tells me that everything will be ok. I am going there next Tuesday. They are going to be adding sleeves to my dress, and few other minor changes, so I think I''ll be ok. She has an outside seamstress that she uses. I think I''ll be ok, right?

Anyway, I bought a bridal bag for my ebay dress that I will consign one day, and it is straight up and down, no flaring, and it''s quite un-poofy. If need-be, I think I can shove my dress into a garment bag, but gosh, I sure would prefer not to.

 

[CJ2008]

hahaha I picture lunging yourself on top of the garment bag.

BTW, now you gave me another idea: shipping the OOT welcome bags!

 

[AceP]

Date: 5/1/2008 4:36:25 PM
Author: Loves Vintage

Date: 5/1/2008 4:26:00 PM
Author: AceP

Date: 5/1/2008 4:14:01 PM
Author: Loves Vintage

Date: 5/1/2008 4:02:49 PM
Author: AceP

Date: 5/1/2008 3:57:06 PM
Author: Loves Vintage
AceP - I need to fly with my dress too, and I''m wondering why you didn''t just take your dress in the white dress bag from the salon. I figured that''s what I would do and then just ask in my nicest way if I could please hang it in the closet. I will also limit my carry-on bag to just one small back-pack, so as not to over-do it with taking up extra space.

Am I kidding myself with thinking the white bag is enough? Were you worried that the bag could get torn, etc?

Thanks for your help!!

And, thanks for asking the question, Claudianam. I wasn''t going to give this a second thought.

oh right - i should have addressed that. well, i wanted to carry it on, not check it. and no way would i have been able to carry that giant white salon bag on. it was much longer than a standard garment bag, and wider at the bottom, and it didn''t have the feature that allows you to fold it in half and hook the end over the hanger, if you know what i mean. does that answer your question?

Yes, I''m afraid it does.

So, you''re saying, they aren''t going to let me carry on the nice white bag and just hang it in the nice closet? How big is this closet, actually? I know it''s an airplane, but I just envisioned myself prancing on the plane, everyone smiling, I am the bride after all, right

, and letting me place my lovely dress in a full length, otherwise almost empty closet! Prancing, smiling, white bag . . . no?

the way airlines are these days, you''ll be lucky if your plane leaves the ground!! (says someone who was recently stranded by the american air md80 debacle... another story altogether!).
but - seriously - if for no other reason, you can''t carry on the bridal salon bags just because they don''t have the fold-over feature and can''t get small enough. do you have your dress yet? my salon bag had sort of a built-in ballroom dress bottom - it flared out - that made it very unwieldy. that might not be true of all of them. but - you probably could try to just sneak it through - plenty of people carry on more than they should. i just happened to have that neiman marcus bag, and it was very sturdy, and much more compact, so i went for it. you could also have someone sew a loop on the salon bag so you can fold it over. i thought about that, too.

I don''t have my dress yet! I haven''t even had my fitting yet!!! And, we''re leaving on May 28th!!!! My ''salon'' is a one woman show, and I do believe this one woman, when she tells me that everything will be ok. I am going there next Tuesday. They are going to be adding sleeves to my dress, and few other minor changes, so I think I''ll be ok. She has an outside seamstress that she uses. I think I''ll be ok, right?

Anyway, I bought a bridal bag for my ebay dress that I will consign one day, and it is straight up and down, no flaring, and it''s quite un-poofy. If need-be, I think I can shove my dress into a garment bag, but gosh, I sure would prefer not to.

you have tons of time. my dress came in maybe three weeks before i left for the wedding - alterations were done in 10 days, and i had about a week to spare - just staring at it, wondering how in the world i was going to get the thing to florida.

and - in response to your earlier question: those first class closets are not big. maybe 5 ft high max, and usually the flight staff has stuff in there. so don''t picture your gown luxuriating in all of the space. it''s a bit cramped to hang a full-length dress.

 

[AceP]

Date: 5/1/2008 4:54:45 PM
Author: claudinam
hahaha I picture lunging yourself on top of the garment bag.

BTW, now you gave me another idea: shipping the OOT welcome bags!

yup, i shipped the bags, welcome letters, favors - everything that i could. once i arrived i just made a grocery store run to fill the welcome bags. worked great.

 

[neatfreak]

I carried my dress on in the bag from the bridal salon. It wasn't a problem. Ace is right that it isn't the easiest to lug around the airport, but it worked.

Just be aware that they WILL have to fold/scrunch up the bottom of your dress, and so you will need a place to air it out and possibly press it when you arrive. It likely will need a few touch ups. Those closets are not big at all, maybe 5 ft tall by 2 ft wide or something...very small!

 

[Gypsy]

I have heard some horror stories about airlines not allowing brides to hang the dresses so be prepared to lay it flat in one of the overheads and asking your neighbors for their kind patience. I think most of them have disclaimers that they are not obligated to accomodate brides. This doesn''t mean that they WON''T. But just be prepared in the event of, is what I''m saying.

 

[CJ2008]

AceP, I forgot to answer your question...my dress isn''t poufy at all...BUT...I don''t want my FI to know it isn''t poufy. I made it sound like it''s a really big dress. hehe That''s part of the reason I was thinking of shipping it...because otherwise I''d have to trust my sister with it on her plane...of course I think she would take care of it, but not like I might, you know?