Should I Take My Wedding Dress?

[youngandinlove]

We are eloping in Costa Rica in less than a month! I have my mothers wedding dress and I am on the fence about taking it or not. I am concerned about how to travel with it, will it be too cumbersome, will it be safe, I keep second guessing it all. My mother sadly is no longer with us, I love the idea of wearing her dress but at the same time I would be mortified if anything happened to it during my travels. We are taking the honeymoon on the same trip and I am questioning the wisdom of taking the dress with me from destination to destination.

 

Any advice would be appreciated. If I dont take the dress we have talked about just wearing casual nice clothes but I just don't know. This is one of the last sticking points in the trip plan. I am reading the forum and trying to find some advice.

 

Thank You!

[TAkathy]

So sorry your mom is no longer with you.  A couple of thoughts struck me right away as I read your post:

 

1) you're eloping - so if your mom were here, would she be present at the wedding?

2) it's Costa Rica - you don't want to travel with more than you have to - it is definitely a HARD (or SOFT) adventure location

3) Is there a way you could have a seamstress take a small piece of the dress which won't ruin it but still give you the opportunity to have your mom with you without taking the whole dress? (button, lace, etc?)

 

Sorry for the seemingly incoherent and contradictory thoughts - sometimes I just can't control the flow of my thoughts!

[acw271011]

Oh my goodness you're so lucky to still have her dress! My mom passed away when I was fifteen. More than 40 years ago now. Understandably you would want part of her with you on your wedding day.

 

Just curious - are you planning on wearing the dress for something else? Like an at home reception, or a full church ceremony at home? If not, is there a reason why you wouldn't be able to wear it for your wedding? If it's that special to you, I want to say do it. Once the wedding is done, keeping it flat and carefully packed might not be as important and you could always pack it up and then have it cleaned when you get home. You'll still be in a resort so once you get to your honeymoon spot, you could just pop it in the closet until you leave.

 

If you're planning on wearing it for another occasion then I would say find something maybe tea length or short right off the rack before you go and wear that. Then you don't have to worry about anything happening to that very special dress and you would still have something nice to wear for your wedding and in that case I would completely agree with TA Kathy and say take a little clipping from the inside of the dress where it won't show and maybe attach it to a bouquet or pin it on the inside of whatever you wear, next to your heart.