I Do Destination! How to Wrangle the Airline Hurdle

Photo Credit: Clint Shuttlesworth

With destination weddings within the Continental U.S. and abroad becoming more popular with couples.  There is a common challenge most brides face; "How do I get my dress and personal decor there"?

Many bridal boutiques have started recommending that a Bride consider shipping her dress via Fed Ex to her destination. If this option is chosen, I would certainly address it to your contact person at your destination location and allow (3) weeks for the process. If you are going to a very remote location, allow (4) weeks.

If the thought of packing your dress in a box and shipping it off makes you hyper ventilate, you can definitely can carry your wedding dress through a security checkpoint. Ideally, the dress can lay flat in its garment bag or other packaging and fit through the X-ray machine. If it can’t, our officers can screen the dress manually, but this will require opening the garment bag. Rest assured that TSA officers will use gloves for the alternate screening to avoid damaging the dress.

You should also consider the plane size and whether you are in business or first class. While some aircraft have closets in first class that can hold the dress, others may not, which could cause challenges in storing the dress above the seat. Airlines will also count the dress as a carry-on item, so be sure to learn about your airline’s carry-on policies to avoid having to check any items at the gate. If never hurts to contact the airline to confirm their individual policies as they may change without notice. 

If you are transporting personal decor for the celebration, consider the following tip: 

1. If you’re taking a special cake knife to cut the cake, please ship it or put it in your checked bag. 

2. Wired bouquets are allowed through the checkpoint, along with rice, birdseed, sand and candy coated almonds. 

3. If you’re taking gifts for your bridal party, it’s best to wrap them when you get to your destination in case they require additional screening. 

4. Pack all of your jewelry in your carry-on bag – don’t put it in checked bags

5. If you are taking a special set of toasting flutes, wrap each glass in bubble wrap and ensure they are well protected

6. If you have planned a lot of DIY decor items and plan to transport them via a suitcase vs. shipping them, make sure to weight the bag to avoid extra weight costs.

If you have special questions regarding the items you want to take on a plane you can call or email TSA’s Contact Center at 1-866-289-9673 or at TSA-ContactCenter@dhs.gov. 

DIY Project: Airline Ticket Invitation/Save The Date

Being a lover of all things paper, I'm so drawn to very bold colors, unexpected textures, letterpress printing or taking a standard item and formating in a unique shape.

While scouting new ideas that are cost effective, I found the most amazing invitation that I had to share. This is especially helpful for Brides who are interested in amazing details without amazingly big prices.

Materials (per set)
2 80lb cover stock 8.5×111 open-end envelope 4.125×91 28lb or lighter cover/cardstock (for template1 pocket) or1 60lb cover/cardstock (for template2 pocket), adhesive

Tools
cutter, ruler, scissors, perforator, scoring blade, computer, printer, round-corner puncher (optional)

Template
Three passes can be printed on one 8.5″x11″ 80lb coverstock. Each pass is approximately 3.25″ x 8″. The left part is about 0.70″ and the right part is about 2″. The template file has four pages. First page is the introduction. The second page has only the outline of the whole pass. You can add any content you want. Third page has some contents that I had such as those you see in the picture below. Fourth page is for the back of the passes that contain the text “NOT A VALID TRAVEL VOUCHER.” This can be changed.

Place your cursor on the first page, below the introduction. Add your image by clicking INSERT from the top menu then PICTURE. You can either insert a clipart or an image file. Select your image by clicking on it. Right click on the image then click FORMAT PICTURE. Click the LAYOUT tab and select BEHIND TEXT under Wrapping Style. Click OK. Now you can drag your image to anywhere you want it. Notice that your image appears behind your texts.
To add text on the first template (2nd page), use the Drawing toolbar. Click INSERT > TOOLBARS and make sure Drawing is checked. The Drawing toolbar usually appears at the bottom of the window. Click the TEXT BOX button. Draw your text box on the template. Right click on the text box, click FORMAT TEXT BOX. Click the COLORS AND LINES tab and select NO FILL under Fill and NO LINE under Line. Click OK. Now you can type in your text on the text box.

Click to download template: Word Document

Directions:
Before cutting the individual passes, perforate the passes separating the three parts using a perforator. If you’re willing to spend more, I suggest using a perforator with a base.For perforators without a base, use a ruler to connect the red crop marksand run your perforator. Run the perforator 2 or 3 times WITHOUT lifting.Practice doing this to perfect your perforating technique before doing them onyour final passes.

Cut on gray solid lines. You may cut the passes with cutter or X-acto knife for the straight lines; round-corner cutter or scissors for the four corners; scissors for the part between the small left part and the middle.

Next step is making the pocket. I have two available pocket templates. The first template is a little harder to make than the second one.

Making the pocket
Template 1
Click template link above to download

Directions:
Print the first page. Turn the paper, the top must go in the printer first. Print the second page. Cut on solid lines using scissors or cutter. The slit must be cut with a cutter. Score on dashed lines then fold towards you. Unfold then apply adhesive on the bottom flap. Fold to glue all parts together.

Template 2
Click template link above to download

Directions:

Print the first page. Turn the paper, the top must go in the printer first. Print the second page. Cut on solid lines using scissors or cutter. The slit must be cut with a cutter. Score on dashed lines then fold towards you. Apply adhesive on Area A to adhere the bottom part to the middle part of the pocket.

After making your pocket, all you have to do is put your passes in the pocket, put them in the envelope and you’re all set!

(source: Aylee - Bits About Me)

Planning a destination wedding and feeling overwhelmed?

Recently, when working with a client to help her decide whether or not a destination wedding would best fit her vision without sacraficing the priorities for the wedding. I began exploring ways to maximize her budget, minimize the added stress and ensure her wedding would be unique and incredibly memorable. Here's a helpful article I felt may be helpful for anyone else seeking a unique destination.

Be Creative: A destination wedding really opens up some possibilities. If you still want to have a fairytale wedding, then go for it. But if you're open to other options, great. Simply by having a destination wedding, you're not doing the conventional. You've already altered people's expectations, so you might be less likely to feel bound to a wedding template. And if your setting is particularly nice, you may be able to simplify other aspects of your wedding. For example, we got married in a beautiful historic inn, which needed no additional decoration or flowers. We saw some weddings in Jamaica where the natural flowers and outdoor setting were so beautiful, just having a bride and groom and officiant looked perfect. Whether you choose to simplify or not, do feel free to rethink some of the typical wedding traditions.


Send a Save-the-Date Letter: If you are having guests, consider a "Save the Date" letter. Invitations to traditional weddings are supposed to be sent 4-6 weeks before the event. But more lead time is helpful. Your guests might also want to ask for vacation time to better enjoy the special place you've chosen! In some areas, accommodations fill up way in advance. For all these reasons, you should consider getting in touch with your guests early. A friendly little form letter with pertinent info (place and date) will do nicely. If you've begun to set up accommodations, include that too, along with any other travel info. Otherwise, promise to get back to them later with that information. Would you like to see an example? Here's our Save the Date letter.

Let Some Things Go: Ideally, this destination wedding should be a vacation for you, too. Don't get so caught up in little details that you can't enjoy the weekend in a special place. Figure out what's important to you, and label the rest of it "small stuff" that you won't sweat. That will free you up to sight-see, relax, play, and join in what your guests are doing!


Do As Much As You Can Before You Go: If you can, get wedding details finished up while you are still at home. For example, I decided to have silk flowers made at home and shipped to the wedding site. It was one less thing to worry about that weekend--and I already knew they were exactly as I wanted them. I also planned my wedding hairstyle before I went, so I would not have to rely on an unknown stylist when I got there. Of course, you might choose different things to "do ahead" -- do what works for you!


Plan Your Packing: Get advice from your dressmaker or retailer on how a dress should be packed for travel. Make sure you have the right-sized suitcase or box ahead of time. If you're flying, plan to carry it on if you can, along with any other wedding apparel you'd find hard to replace on short notice! We found that packing for the wedding AND the honeymoon added up to a lot of luggage. If you can, farm out some of your important things to guests and family who are traveling down there. If you are shipping anything, leave extra time. I shipped my flowers down ahead of time, and they took over TEN days. I got some grey hairs wondering why they weren't there yet. They made it for the wedding, but it was close.


Don't Over plan for Your Guests: You've probably gone to a lot of trouble to choose a nice place to get married. Let your guests enjoy it! Don't plan so many get-togethers, family dinners, rehearsal dinners, and so on that your family and friends have no free time. We did plan a few things on different nights, to guarantee that we'd spend quality time with different groups of our guests, but no one (save us) had something wedding-related planned EVERY night. We had one family dinner on one night, a parents' dinner the next night, followed by a night out with friends only. We skipped a rehearsal dinner. I know that it has become a nice tradition for people to plan huge wedding-related activities and social gatherings all weekend, and I think that's super when you have a bunch of people in your hometown who otherwise wouldn't have much to do. But in your case, your location can do a lot of the entertaining for you--and you should let it!


What about the people who won't be there?: When you have a destination wedding, you're probably going to leave a lot of people out. That might be by design, or just an unfortunate circumstance of getting married far away. There are ways to include them. One option is to have a reception at some point after the wedding. You can plan something very much like a traditional wedding reception (formal invitations, cake cutting, dancing, even wedding attire) or something more like a party. We had two, one an open house in my hometown, the other a more formal catered party at my husband's parents' home. We invited the local people who would have been invited to the wedding had we held it in those towns. We brought our wedding photos to both, and I'd carefully prepared them in a scrapbook with good labels and captions.


Consider using announcements: You don't see too many announcements mailed these days, because most people use their invitation to "announce" their marriage. But they are a great way to let important people know you've been married! Announcements are very similar in appearance to invitations--just the wording (and the timing) are different. You send these after the wedding takes place. The format generally lists the location your wedding took place, so rest assured that recipients will understand why they weren't invited.


What about showers?: And gifts from others who are not invited?As modern wedding traditions have evolved, we have tied wedding gifts to wedding invitations. For example, etiquette holds that those who are invited to a shower should also be invited to the wedding. If you have a limited guest list, that can make showers (and other times you receive wedding gifts) feel awkward. However, please realize that many people give gifts simply because they are happy for you and that is their traditional way to celebrate the marriage of someone they care about. We received many gifts from people after we sent out the announcements (even though this wasn't expected). And I--the one with the tiny wedding--had TWO showers! One was given by co-workers, the other by the nice ladies in my mother-in-law's church. It was what they sincerely wished to do, and the fact that they weren't a part of the wedding didn't seem to matter a bit. On the other hand, when a girlfriend wanted to hold a shower for me with plans to invite other mutual friends, I nixed it because it felt different. Play it by ear, but understand that there is a time to receive gifts graciously.



(Source:http://www-personal.umich.edu/~kzaruba/dest.html)