How To Pick, Pack and Perfect your Destination Wedding Dress

By Randolph Quan

Could it really be that easy? It's true - looking your best in your destination wedding dress is as easy as three Ps. Pick, pack and perfect the dress, and you'll look fabulous in your chosen wedding location.

Picking. Often, a destination wedding dress is going to be more informal than a typical princess wedding dress. This isn't always the case, though, especially if your "destination wedding" is being planned in your hometown that you live three to four hours away from.

When choosing your dress for a destination wedding, take into account the climate you're getting married in. A tropical beach wedding calls for a more casual dress in a light-weight material - after all, you don't want sweat marks on your white dress! Choose a thin fabric such as chiffon, charmuese or organza.

A tropical beach wedding is one of the more appropriate times to choose a sexier wedding dress, too. When the location is exotic and sexy itself, no one can fault a bride for tuning into that vibe and glamming up the sex appeal as well!

For an even more casual look, choose something other than a full-length gown. Not only will you not have to worry about the gown dragging in the sand, it will probably be less expensive. On the other side of things, a destination wedding dress for a cooler climate requires a cover-up if you plan to spend any time outside. A complementary shawl is your best bet.

Packing. This will be the trickiest part of the destination wedding dress debacle, but let's make one thing clear: Do not under any circumstances check your wedding dress with your baggage on a plane. Too many people lose their luggage each year for you to risk it. Most of the time, you can carry your dress in a garment bag through security and ask a flight attendant to hang it in the first-class coat cabin. Just make sure to count it as one of your allowed carry-on bags. If you can't be sure it can be hung by an attendant, fold the garment bag into a suitcase that will fit into the overhead cabin. It might be wrinkled when you get there, but at least it will be there.

You can ship a wedding dress, but there are so many risks that it could be lost, damaged or stolen that it's not really worth it. If you do decide to do this, have the bridal salon package it for you. They're used to shipping dresses when orders are placed, so they'll know the proper way to do it. All in all, driving the dress to the destination yourself is the safest bet. Unfortunately, for many destinations, that's not an option.

Perfecting. The biggest headache to contend with after successfully transporting the dress is getting the wrinkles out. If you're lucky, you can hang the dress for 24 hours and the wrinkles will fall out. If 24 hours are a luxury you don't have, pack a travel steamer and/or the name of a local dry cleaner who can give the dress a good pressing. Get a list of dry cleaners internationally at www.ifi.org.

Finally, make sure you have all the appropriate accessories to complement your gorgeous destination wedding dress! For the traditionalists, don't forget your something blue (or the six-pence in your shoe) and for those looking for something a bit funkier, glam up your gown with a sparkling hairpiece, colorful shoes or bold make-up. - 30452

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