Traveling with wedding dress and bridal party gowns

[Amy_Belle]

Hello!

I apologize if this was posted before. Has anyone tried shipping their dress to Disney? Is so, is it expensive? I have a princess gown and would love some guidance on how to transport it. I was told at the bridal shop to stick it in one of those bags that sucks all the air out and put it in my carry on....which I fear that may crush the dress too much. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thank you!!!!!

 

[girli565]

Hello!

I apologize if this was posted before. Has anyone tried shipping their dress to Disney? Is so, is it expensive? I have a princess gown and would love some guidance on how to transport it. I was told at the bridal shop to stick it in one of those bags that sucks all the air out and put it in my carry on....which I fear that may crush the dress too much. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thank you!!!!!

Carolyn Allen's is a vendor that many brides here have used, she offers a service that allows you to ship your dress to her and she will bring it to you on your wedding day all ready for you and then someone will pick it up from your resort and ship it back home to you. You could even get it preserved before then ship it back to you.

 

[girli565]

Carolyn Allen's is a vendor that many brides here have used, she offers a service that allows you to ship your dress to her and she will bring it to you on your wedding day all ready for you and then someone will pick it up from your resort and ship it back home to you. You could even get it preserved before then ship it back to you.

Here's her website... http://www.carolynallens.com/

 

[lurkyloo]

I shipped my gown to Carolyn Allen's, and it was one of the best decisions I made! It cost me $23 to send it FedEx from California. Carolyn Allen's charged $15 to store and deliver it. I paid ... $80, I think, to have them steam it in my room, and then they picked it up the next day and shipped it back to me for just the price UPS charged to send it ($30).

Most wedding dresses are made from synthetic fabrics that bounce right back and can easily be steamed. Unless your dress is 100% silk and you are not planning to have it pressed, cram that baby into a cardboard box and ship it!

 

[MegKate]

I shipped my gown to Carolyn Allen's, and it was one of the best decisions I made! It cost me $23 to send it FedEx from California. Carolyn Allen's charged $15 to store and deliver it. I paid ... $80, I think, to have them steam it in my room, and then they picked it up the next day and shipped it back to me for just the price UPS charged to send it ($30).

Most wedding dresses are made from synthetic fabrics that bounce right back and can easily be steamed. Unless your dress is 100% silk and you are not planning to have it pressed, cram that baby into a cardboard box and ship it!

I did the same thing - it cost 27 to UPS it down to Florida from Northern Maine and Carolyn Allen's brought it right to my room, steamed and then did a touch up in my room. So much easier than dragging it around with me.. I already had five suitcases!!

 

[Amy_Belle]

Thank you soooo much!!! I was wondering how it worked for my Disney Wedding Coordinator rec. them. I will call them ASAP.
Did you do the same for Tuxes or did you have them sent to the resort? We are most likely going with David's Bridal since we are having a reception back home.
Thank you again for all the tips!!!

 

[lurkyloo]

Two guys sent their measurements to Carolyn Allen and had tuxes delivered to the room. The other two got fitted at their local tux dealers who used the same formalwear network as CA (Jim's Formalwear) and brought their tuxes with them.

Our tux experience with CA was not as flawless as the dress steaming. Apparently the style we chose - a basic, cheap-o tux - is not kept on hand at CA's shop the way some styles are, so when the Best Man got the wrong-length coat, CA couldn't exchange it in time for the wedding. He looked like he was playing dress-up.

Otherwise, the service was friendly and fast and efficient, though.

If you're using David's Bridal, you can get your guys fitted there (MW Tux) and then have the Winter Garden, FL branch of MW Tux deliver tuxes in the correct sizes to your hotel. Just call the Winter Garden MW Tux, and they'll help you set it up with your local branch.

 

[LLLBelle]

I am not getting married in Disney, but Puerto Rico and have been going back and forth between shipping and getting it into a carry-on rolling suitcase. I got a quote from Fedex and it would cost $168 for 3 day or $128 for ground and that's one way, USPS is a bit better, but still it's about $65 once you add insurance and box size. I won't have access to anyone that would be able to press the dress on the island, but I am bringing my own personal steamer. I am also thinking that the satin underlay should not wrinkle that bad if it is in the carry-on for a maximum of 36 hours as opposed to a week and a half if I ship it to my wedding planner.

It has been frustrating, but I can not see paying over $200-300 to ship it there and back. I just don't want to ruin the dress either, I am mostly concerned about the beading, since I think the skirt part will be fine and I will have to steam out the satin when I get there, but the chiffon and tulle won't wrinkle.

I know I am just talking out loud, but it has been a concern for me too. It is just overwhelming when you are trying to minimize your luggage. Thank you for listening to my ramble.

 

[Amy_Belle]

I shipped my gown to Carolyn Allen's, and it was one of the best decisions I made! It cost me $23 to send it FedEx from California. Carolyn Allen's charged $15 to store and deliver it. I paid ... $80, I think, to have them steam it in my room, and then they picked it up the next day and shipped it back to me for just the price UPS charged to send it ($30).

Most wedding dresses are made from synthetic fabrics that bounce right back and can easily be steamed. Unless your dress is 100% silk and you are not planning to have it pressed, cram that baby into a cardboard box and ship it!

Thank you so much!!!

Did you have to arrange shipping the dress home when you reserved Carolyn Allen's? Also, did you ship any of your bridal party dresses or family members?

 

[Boardwalk_bride]

I just called Carolyn Allen, and because I am in Canada, they don't want me shipping my dress. Has anyone else sent in their dress internationally? It looks like my only alternative right now is to drive to Buffalo and UPS it from there

 

[karylle03]

Well, shipping dress to Disney is really expensive. In the excitement of getting married abroad, many brides overlook the important detail of how they are going to transport a wedding dress to its destination safely. I guess, you can transport it by plane because that is the very basic answer I can suggest.

 

[daisygirl902]

I just called Carolyn Allen, and because I am in Canada, they don't want me shipping my dress. Has anyone else sent in their dress internationally? It looks like my only alternative right now is to drive to Buffalo and UPS it from there

Ugh - that's bad news for me....I was planning to ship mine to Carolyn Allen's from Nova Scotia....looks like I'll be carrying it on....yuck.

 

[TinkLoverSam]

Ugh - that's bad news for me....I was planning to ship mine to Carolyn Allen's from Nova Scotia....looks like I'll be carrying it on....yuck.

I guess I'm SOL too Calgary being in Canada and all

 

[Boardwalk_bride]

You can still try and ask if they will accept it. I feel like it was largely due to the fact that they would have to pay duty on it. The person I talked to was familiar with Ontario, and knew I lived close enough to Buffalo, so that also may have been why I was told that.

 

[Disneychix]

I was told to roll my dress from the bottom towards the top. I stuffed the bodice with rolled towels to keep it's shape. I then wrapped the whole bundle in a sheet and stuffed it into a carryon and boarded the plane with it!

Just giving an option to those who don't want to pay to ship the dress.

 

[lurkyloo]

Hmmm... it only cost me about $25 to FedEx my dress to Florida from California, and about $30 when Carolyn Allen used UPS to send it back. It's too bad it's so much more to do it internationally.

Thank you so much!!!

Did you have to arrange shipping the dress home when you reserved Carolyn Allen's? Also, did you ship any of your bridal party dresses or family members?

Carolyn Allen sent my dress home for me and charged me what UPS charged them to ship it. (see above) We didn't have any other girls in the bridal party, so mine was the only dress shipped.

 

[HopefulDisneyBride]

I shipped my dress to Carolyn Allen's also. I did it so it would arrive 2 weeks before my wedding date and they stored it there. My bridesmaids all packed their dresses in their carryons. Same thing with the guys tuxes. I arranged for Carolyn Allens to steam everything when they dropped my gown off and it worked perfectly.

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

I was told to roll my dress from the bottom towards the top. I stuffed the bodice with rolled towels to keep it's shape. I then wrapped the whole bundle in a sheet and stuffed it into a carryon and boarded the plane with it!

Just giving an option to those who don't want to pay to ship the dress.

Thanks for the tip...My mother is set on NOT sending the dress anywhere...I'm just don't want TSA to open it in front of DH-should it get snagged to be looked at...

 

[Cait8383]

For all of you who have shipped your dress, what is the best way to pack it?

 

[LLLBelle]

Thanks for the tip...My mother is set on NOT sending the dress anywhere...I'm just don't want TSA to open it in front of DH-should it get snagged to be looked at...

I carried my dress in the dress bag on the airplane. It was a pain and we were traveling from arizona to puerto rico and had two connections. I had thought about putting it in a rollie carry-on, but my wedding planner about freaked out when I mentioned something about doing that. Plus, I had a lot of beading and didn't want the pressure in the carry-on to ruin the beading.

One thing I will say is that traveling with the dress does have it's perks. TSA was nice everywhere (but Newark ) they made sure that a TSA agent was there to grab the dress off the belt so none of the bags swished it. The airlines were also pretty good about making sure we had an entire overhead for the dress, or moving our seat so we would be able to have enough room for the dress. I was also able to sweet talk the agent in Phoenix into waiving our bag fees for 3 bags

The dress also had minimial wrinkles and my mom steamed it a little the day of the wedding, but it was really fine.

Honestly, I would have probably shipped it if I could have, since we ended up with 5 bags, but it was fine and I didn't have to worry about the dress getting lost in the mail.