mrs2be.ie

[TGR]

Hi girls,
Just wondering if anyone has had experience taking a wedding dress on a flight (as carry on) and if they had any problems/concerns/mishaps with it. I will be flying from Toronto to Dublin (via Amsterdam - no direct flights in the winter) on December 25th and I'm hoping I'll have no hassles. I haven't called the airline yet, planning to do that soon.

[fromOHtoH]

Hi TGR
A friend of mine brought her dress from the UK to Oz last year as hand luggage, she had it in a box though - her wedding didnt happen when it was meant to happen due to a death in the family so I brought the dress back to Ireland with me in the box and it then went with the bride to Mauritious in the box again when she eventually got married. There were no problems at all with it, She had written "wedding dress" on the box so when I was bringing it back so many people were so nice to me, the air stewards went out of their way for me and even in Dublin airport people were helping me with luggage once they saw the "wedding dress" written on the box (she had it in massive writing). The dress was folded properly so only creased a small bit but once it was hung for a day or two it was fine. HTH

[TGR]

I was going to carry it in the garment bag provided by the bridal store- now I'm wondering if I should go out and get a box instead? I will be travelling on my own and am quite petite (ie, no upper body strength ) so don't want to be tripping over the dress and what not.

[fromOHtoH]

Check with the airline and see what they say,Im sure theyre well used to handling wedding dresses. If you have spoken to them in advance it will make it easier on the day youre travelling.
Tbh the box was very handy. It was the correct cabin size and had a handle to make it easy to carry. You'll also need to take the type of dress you have into consideration, some of them might get very creased.
If she hadnt had the box I dont think Id have attempted to bring it home for her, Id probably have ended up tripping on it and then hear a big rip as I sit on it, lol

[letmeeatcake]

Most airlines are very accommodating with wedding dresses. My friend is getting married in NZ, but she ordered her dress in Spain. Her mum went over to collect the dress, brought in on the plane as hand luggage (Ryanair!) in the garment bag and Ryanair let her lie it on a seat. Her husband then flew to Manchester with it (Aer Lingus) to give it to a friend, again in the garment bag. The crew there hung it up for him at the front of the plane in a storage area. The friend then flew to NZ, and had no trouble with the dress at all. So you should be absolutely fine. Nobody rang the airline in advance either to let them know.

[MrsEL10]

I've seen a bride give the dress to the airline staff and they have put it in their storage area when we were going abroad for a wedding - you should be OK

[livingabroad]

We flew ryanair... had to book an extra seat on plane for the dress! worked out cheaper than buying one of the official dress boxes (we checked with airline and with ryanair we couldnt take additional hand luggage if we had a box for the dress).

[TGR]

Eeek- buying another seat sounds crazy! Was it a short-haul flight?

I found information on the airline website (KLM for the flight from Toronto to amsterdam) and it says that a wedding dress can be carried as long as it weighs 5kg/11lbs or less. From amsterdam to dublin, I'll be flying Aer lingus and on their website it says that regular checked baggage rules apply for wedding dresses (ie <10kg/22lbs and dimensions 55x40x20cm).

Based on that info, I should have no problems taking it on. Atleast I hope! Will probably still call the airline to get some peace of mind.

[livingabroad]

it was short haul for me! i looked at buying wedding dress box that fit in the overhead compartment but they were about 30 pounds... so the extra seat was only £10 - gotta love ryanair!! when your looking for a wedding dress box try online, found ones on ebay etc and just make sure the dimensions are ok. Be careful how you fold it - you may have to have it steamed when you arrive to get rid of wrinkles from folding. If you bring the box with you when you pick up the dress the bridal shop will pack it properly.

[BHolidayBride]

My friend brought her wedding dress from Australia to Dublin last year - she had a stop-over somewhere as well and she carried it on in the garment bag with no hassles! Airline staff hung it up for her in the storage area - I'd say you'll be fine!