Congratulations! You’re going to be a bridesmaid! But what if your friend’s wedding is the other side of the country? Do bridesmaid dresses stand up well to travelling? Are there any things we should think about to keep them in tip-top condition? Read on to get some helpful travel advice:
The Material Makes A Difference
Some materials are more prone to creasing than others, and although you probably won’t choose bridesmaid dresses based upon this, it will be useful to have a ‘heads-up’ in advance. After all, if you know that your dress is likely to come out of your face looking like an octogenarian’s neck then you can be prepared with a clothing steamer, iron or press.
You’ll need to ask the store to give you some advice on caring for your dress when you buy it. They will advise you what to do based upon its material, then when you reach your destination you can seek out a dry cleaner, iron or steamer.
Fly Easy
In large countries like the USA it’s pretty common to have to fly to another city. Whilst a flight of a few hours won’t phase most travellers it might crease your bridesmaid dress like crazy, so you need to find out how to store your dress.
Many stores will provide you with a dress bag, which is a long flat bag that you put your dress inside and then fold over double. This will usually protect from some creasing. If you don’t have one then they can be bought very cheaply online.
If you can avoid it, don’t put your dress in your case in the hold. There are two reasons for this.
First, your bag might be lost leaving you without a dress for the wedding!
Second, it’s guaranteed to get creased.
Rather you should carry it on and put it in the overhead luggage bin.
Decrease Upon Arrival
You’ve finally got into the hotel and unpacked your dress…oh no! There’s a lot of creases!
This is normal as travelling won’t help dresses, but there are some easy DIY fixes that you can do in your hotel room.
You’ve heard of the old “hang clothes in the bathroom and let the steam from your shower iron them” trick, right? It really works! Hang your bridesmaid dress up in the bathroom and make sure that the room is filled with steam from a hot shower. This will take maybe fifteen to twenty minutes. You’ll then find that a lot of creases will just fall out.
If you can iron the dress then go ahead, as many hotels will provide you with and iron, or you can use the trouser press to strategically ‘iron’ your skirt by placing different parts inside until it’s all ironed.
Another option is to ask the hotel to dry clean the dress. This will return it to you in pristine, pressed condition; but of course you need to pay a little money.
