Wedding Blog
In the first stages of our planning I researched different options for traveling with a wedding dress. In some threads on the boards, brides were saying it would be of no harm if you just stuck the dress in a backpack as your carry on. Well that’s a really good option, but a couple of things came to mind:
Because the space (and weight) of the backpack was too precious, I decided to go a different way, and pictured this in my mind:
{ Image Source }
I’ve traveled with pillows before, and I’ve just carried them under my arm with no problems at all. So I thought that maybe I could just make a “wedding dress pillow”. So I went straight to my leftover fabrics and found the perfect one that I had leftover from a pajamas I made a few weeks ago. I grabbed my scissors and jumped into action!
{ I cut two rectangles of fabric and sewed a zipper to one side }
{ Then I started the slow an painful process of stuffing my wedding dress into the pillow. In the picture on the right, you can see I made two of them: one with just plain fabric and other one with a thicker inner layer. }
{ I folded the dress carefully so it wouldn’t get too wrinkled. I’m not so worried about that because I can always dry clean it once I’m in CA right? In the right pic, you can see my dress inside the two pillows. }
{ I tried to squeeze the dress down as much as I could. If you remember, my crinoline alone is pretty puffy - I want to be a marshmallow bride 
}
This is the perfect way to dream about our wedding, and spend 15 hours on a plane. 
I’m really happy with the way it ended up. It’s actually really small (considering how puffy the dress looks) So I’m hoping it helps me get my beauty rest right before I’m reunited with Mr. Poodle!!
Speaking of being reunited, I’m SOO excited!! I’ll be a really really busy bride these next few days with packing and finishing up my last projects before my trip, so I don’t think I’ll be able to blog again until I’m in beautiful California. But to make it up to you, I want to share another teaser from the dress I’m making with the fabric I showed you all in my last post.
{ I still have some work to do, that’s why I’m grabbing it on the front }
Maybe this was too much of a tease, but the next time you’ll see it will be in our engagement pictures. 
Now back to the subject at hand. Have any of you had to travel with your wedding dress? What was the best packing option for you?
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You’re so smart Miss Poodle!! I never would have thought of that.
What a clever solution. I really want to bring my dress back with me from Texas, so I’ll have to think of the best way. And your dress is too cute.
I also have to travel with my wedding dress and this does sound like a good idea but the one thing I’m concerned with is with airport security. It might seem like you are hiding something in the pillow. If you put that in the xray machine at the airport security, won’t they see the zipper or beading and that might mean it gets red flagged to get hand searched. Just wondering.
I’m considering asking the airline if I can put my dress in the captain’s closet. It may or maynot work but I’ll make sure I do it ahead of time. If they don’t have it I might stuff it in my carryon or fed-ex home.
pillows! who would have told of that?? so practical!!
and your e-pic’s dress is completely amazing!! you’re awesome!!
That is such a wonderful idea and a great use of space. yrrett107 does bring up a good point…but sometimes pillows themselves have zippers on them so I don’t know if that would cause a red flag or not. Either way, it’s still a great idea!
@yrret107: Yeah I actually thought about that and because I still dont attach the top to the bottom I just stuffed the pillow with the bottom (that’s the biggest part) and it’s plain tulle, plus I already told the people from the airline the way I stuffed the pillow just to be safe 
You’re so smart, Miss Poodle!! What a great idea! 
Have you thought of putting plastic around the dress inside the pillow case too? Just in case some nasty person in the seat next to you spills their coke
This is a great idea! I flew with my dress and they put it in a closet at the front. This might be another option for you, but the pillow idea is pretty fabulous!
@Mrs. Bear Cub: Si! I actually did that (should have write it on the post) the inner fabric of one of the cover is waterproof fabric, I chose to use that instead of plastic so I’m not loud each time I move my head LOL
oh also - I didn’t even really need to ask about the closet.. All I really got out was, ” I have my wedding dress and…” and they were like, oh yes the closet! So I think airlines are fairly prepared for our poofy dresses 
Miss Poodle, you are a freaking genius!! I would have never in a million years thought of doing that. So smart. And CUTE e-pic dress. Can’t wait to see it in action!!
That’s a great idea. I sent mine to our coordinator by FedEx. I didn’t want to put it in the overhead bin or the closets during the flights because I would probably want to keep checking it to make sure nothing happened to it and wouldn’t get any rest.
Oh my gosh your engagement dress looks awesome! You are such a great seamstress-your sewing skills are (once again!!) AMAZING!
the pillow is brilliant and the engagement shoot dress is adorable! I’m so excited for you Miss Poodle, and can’t wait to meet up when you get here!
Miss Poodle, can you design my entire wardrobe? The dress for your engagement shot is to die for.
That is the best idea I’ve ever heard for flying with a wedding dress! I have a friend who recently bought her dress it’s own plane ticket so it could sit on the seat next to her, what a waste of $ compared to a pillow case!
You are amazing!!! I never would have thought to put my dress into a pillow (!) to get it on the plane. Ingenious. And your e-pics dress is too cute!
This is brilliant! And the dress for the e-pics is a dream! LOVE IT!
Que brillante idea. Pretty dress! Best wishes on your flight to beautiful California!
glad you made the pillow waterproof because i was about to warn you not to drool on it!
Am I the only one who thinks this is an odd idea? Wouldn’t it be a giant wad of dress when you got to the wedding? You’d have to take it to get steamed/cleaned/etc, and that’s super expensive for a wedding dress. Every time I’ve flown with a BM dress, I just cary it on in a plastic garment bag and ask the flight attendant if I can hang it in the closet - they always say yes. I am sure they would super-accomodate a bride. If they were to say no, I decided my backup would be to lay it across peoples’ bags in the overhead bin. I didn’t want to pack it (or make a pillow out of it) and have a wad of a dress when I got there.
The dress you are working is LOVELY! Can you tell us what pattern you are using for it? I would love to make one too.
That’s amazing, Poodle. You’re too freaking adorable.
What an awesome idea!!!! Your plaid dress is amazing, can’t wait to see it in action!
Interesting idea! I have to travel with my dress next month and have been worrying about it for a while. I’ve heard some planes don’t offer the closet option anymore, so if you bring it in the garment bag, you have to hope for a friendly flight attendant to save an overhead bin just for you. But of course, not many flight attendants are going to care about that dress as much as (the general) you!
Just traveled with my dress on Virgin America, which does not have a captains closet. My dress was in a HUGE bag and the top of the dress was stuffed solid with tissue paper, preserving it’s shape. I got on very early, with the biz class people (the guy taking the tickets didn’t mind) and then just took an entire overhead bin. I was worried people would be irritated but everyone was SO nice about it and excited to hear it was a wedding dress. One lady sitting near me even protected it when I went to the bathroom! She told a woman that she couldn’t put anything in the overhead bin! Adorable.
Dear Poodle,
You can quit your day job and fill my closet any day. You’ve got some crazy awesome needle and thread skills.
I think it’s a genius idea. Remember all the talk of stolen dresses on flights? Nobody is going to steal a dress pillow!
Brilliant!
what a cool idea to keep your dress close! and I’m loving that dress for your engagement pictures!
Poodle poodle poodle! You are sooo talented! I love your new dress and your pillow is too funny (and practical)!
you are a genius poodle! i never would have thought to make a pillow!
you are SO CLEVER! and you can HUG your wedding dress all the way to LA!
i shipped my dress with my husband. let him deal with it
very crafty! we drove 300 miles, so my dress came in the car with me. ps. i LOVE your rehearsal dinner dress. you made that?? how fabulous. and pockets — swoon!
I love this idea and all the other info I’ve learned from people’s comments. I am flying from Korea to Toronto with mine, and I’ve been told by friends who have already been through the trip that it all depends on the flight crew if they are accomedating or not. I haven’t chosen my dress yet, but if I get a non-poofy one, I’m totally doing this pillow idea!!!^^
I’m trying to figure out the best way to travel with my dress just 4 hours, never mind to a whole new country! You’re so clever!
Miss Poodle, I adore all of your crafty solutions! The pillow idea is definitly something to think about as I’ll be travelling for 22 hours with my dress on 2 airplanes. Having a dress-pillow would be great!
LOVE the dress you’er working on- you really should have your own store, I’d be buying Poodle-products like crazy!
you are so crafty! Great solution to a big, puffy problem!
That was such a great idea, Poodle! You’re so crafty and smart - I seriously never would have though about doing that!
YOU ARE BRILLIANT! I never would have thought to make it a pillow!
OMG, you’re the smartest! I can’t believe you thought of that idea! And that is an adorable dress!!
You’re the most clever person!
And you engagement photo dress is amazing!
[...] How to Travel with a Wedding Dress by Miss Poodle [...]
WOW! What a smartie you are! haha. I would have never thought of that. That is such a great idea. And you are so talented. I love your blue dress.
[...] I unpacked my dress from the wedding dress pillow, the crinoline looked like a big mess. But since I wanted to wash it anyway, the wrinkles wont be a [...]
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Miss Poodle, Santiago, Chile/San Bernardino, CA
Age and Occupation: 27, Industrial & Web Designer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Firefighter & Mountain Patrol
Engagement Date: February 25, 2009
Wedding Date: January 2010
Venue: Mr. P's Grandparents’ Ranch
About Me: I’m a Chilean girl who's crazy about nature and swimming. I enjoy carving, drawing, reading and sewing; I drool over computers, fabric, pretty paper, purple and patterns. To me, chocolate should be one of the seven wonders, right next to lemon pie. I never thought an exchange work experience program was going to change my life forever, but while working in California, I met Mr. Poodle, and ever since my days are better and brighter. We are two goofy souls that, after finding each other, couldn’t help but want to be together forever. It has being a long and sometimes hard road, since we have to deal with such a long distance between us, but we are now facing the last stage of our Fiancé Visa, and soon we will be together. You know the best part? We will be married! So I’ll be blogging from Chile until just a few months before our “green and purple” wedding.
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