Getting married abroad adds a different set of criteria for a wedding dress selection. While you may prefer a more traditional style, a non-traditional dress might better suit packing limitations. There are many things you need to consider before choosing your wedding dress.
Look Like You Belong
If you're getting married in Asia and want to look like you belong, you'll be wearing a surprising amount of color. Some Japanese brides have worn white in the past - not to demonstrate purity but to symbolize a break from their birth family -- however, that's not always the case today. Red is a popular color in Asian weddings; it symbolizes happiness. Some Asian brides even change quite a few times over the course of the festivities.Korean weddings inspire the bride to wear a red skirt, yellow jacket, pantaloons, and a slip. On top of that is a red robe with rainbow colored sleeves-no demure white puffy dresses here! They model their wedding attire after the clothing of royalty.
Getting married in India? Whether you're wearing a sari, a gaghra choli, or a shalwar chameez, you'll be sparkling and wearing plenty of color. Even the fabric shines.
If you're trying for a Moroccan wedding, expect to wear a white kaftan that's heavily decorated - on top of loads of opulent jewelry and plenty of eye kohl.
Packing Dresses for Getting Married Abroad
If you plan on packing your wedding dress, some of the best advice comes from Honeymoons by Sunset. Here are a few of their tips:
- Have the dress professionally shipped by a company that can provide full insurance and delivery confirmation. Get the box and tissue paper to pack it in from the bridal store.
- If you can't stand the thought of shipping it ahead of time or you can't do it for whatever reason, don't take a carry-on on the plane. Instead, take your dress in a garment bag-either to hang up in a closet on the plane or inside of a suitcase you can carry with you. Call ahead to make sure this won't be a problem. Do not check your wedding dress.
- Hang it up and have it steamed right away if needed. You can try to steam it yourself by hanging it in the bathroom while you shower. The heat should make most, if not all, of the wrinkles fall out.
Wear Them Again and Travel Easily
Of course, if you're getting married on a beach or you're having an informal wedding, you can always purchase a dress you can wear again - one that will be easier to pack, too. For example, if you're planning a sunset wedding on the white sands of an exotic beach, a white sundress isn't out of the question. Put that in your bag and you're ready to go. It's also more easily replaced if it does get lost in transit. The same idea also applies if you're getting married on a cruise ship.
Another idea is to look for a colorful formal or cocktail dress to get married in. It's still dressy, though less formal than a wedding dress, but it's easier to pack. And who says you have to wear white anyway? As mentioned above, red is for luck in some countries. Wear it proudly and set your relationship off in a positive direction.
Embrace another culture's ideal wedding attire and branch out from the Western world's main pick. If you're feeling brave or you'll be staying in your country of choice for a while before your wedding, you may even want to wait and purchase your wedding dress when you get there. That's assuming you're looking into wearing what the locals wear for their own ceremonies. You won't have to worry about it getting lost en route, getting wrinkled, or being too bulky to carry on comfortably.
Your Wedding
Getting married abroad doesn't have to be as cumbersome as it sounds when it comes to your wedding dress. Dresses for getting married abroad - whether you're attempting to wear traditional attire for the country you're visiting or you're just wondering how to get your perfect dress to your destination - are easily managed with a little planning and, in some cases, a bit of research.
