Help! How to carry formal gown on airplane

[lemondog]

I am in a good friend's wedding next month, and will be flying from Nashville to Ft. Lauderdale with a connex. at O'Hare. I am definitely going to carry my bridesmaid gown on with me, because knowing my luck the checked luggage will not make it with me.

So my question is, has anyone ever carried a formal gown on an airplane before? It will be in a garment bag, but I hate to fold it up and smush it into an overhead bin. Do they have closets for this sort of thing? Will it count toward my carry-on allowance if it's not going overhead? I will be flying American.

Thank you for ANY input you can give!

 

[jennyl772003]

I got married on DCL, so I carried my wedding dress on with me. I flew Midwest. They did have a small closet for me to use, but I still pretty much had to fold the dress in half to fit it in. I called the airline before hand, and they said to arrive early and tell the desk that I would like to use it. I had no problem.

I do believe that I also carried one carry on, but I may be wrong. We went with a group of people, so I don't remember if maybe my 2 averaged someone elses one out.

Just a warning... Carrying a dress like that was the BIGGEST pain in the ...
It got heavy and hot on my arm. It was hard to pull my suitcases and carry the bag at the same time.

 

[jwsqrdplus2]

I would also recommend finding a drycleaner near your hotel or the wedding location so you can take your dress in for a quick press. I did that on one trip and it was definitely worth the small expense.

 

[jel0511]

I am in a good friend's wedding next month, and will be flying from Nashville to Ft. Lauderdale with a connex. at O'Hare. I am definitely going to carry my bridesmaid gown on with me, because knowing my luck the checked luggage will not make it with me.

So my question is, has anyone ever carried a formal gown on an airplane before? It will be in a garment bag, but I hate to fold it up and smush it into an overhead bin. Do they have closets for this sort of thing? Will it count toward my carry-on allowance if it's not going overhead? I will be flying American.

Thank you for ANY input you can give!

Some garment bags exceed the carry-on limit for some airlines, so check with American's website to see what their carry-on limitations are. I've never had a problem putting my formal dresses in a garmet bag and having them arrive wrinkled. Just have it pressed before you leave and leave all the stuffing and plastic on. Put it in the garment bag and check it. Usually the closet on planes is only for the use for first class passengers, so they might not allow you to use it. You could open it up and lay it in the overhead bin, but someone might place their luggage on top of it, wrinkling it more.

 

[RadioNate]

I am in a good friend's wedding next month, and will be flying from Nashville to Ft. Lauderdale with a connex. at O'Hare. I am definitely going to carry my bridesmaid gown on with me, because knowing my luck the checked luggage will not make it with me.

I actually had that happen - at O'Hare no less. No they didn't ever find my luggage.

I think they usually have a closet on the bigger planes. It is kinda hit or miss if they let you use it. Talk to the bride about if she is having her dress pressed sometime after your arrive. If you can get it pressed there I'd consider shipping the dress Fed Ex.

 

[DawnCt1]

I have gone on several cruises where I have taken a lot of formal gowns of different material. I have had them in a garment bag with other items that has indeed been folded. Packing it properly is essential. Pad the hanger on which it is hanging with lots of tissue paper. Secure it to the hanger so it doesn't slip off of the hanger. Hang an empty dry cleaning bag on the hanger first. Then slip the dress over the dry cleaning bag. After that, cover it with another dry cleaning bag. This eliminates all of the friction so the material will slip and not wrinkle. As soon as you land, open the bag and hang the dress. If it is wrinkled, put it in the bathroom and run the shower to steam the bathroom a bit. I have never had a wrinkled dress on a cruise and that is after it had been packed with other items for longer than 24 hours. Have fun!