How To Ship a Wedding Dress Overseas?

Do you want to know how to ship your wedding dress to the venue without breaking the bank? Or perhaps you run a bridal boutique that needs a reliable and affordable logistics service to transport wedding dresses across the country and around the world.

One of the most crucial skills is learning how to ship. Shipping can be rough on wedding dresses, so protecting yours before sending it off to the reception or another bride-to-be is crucial.

Tips for a Wedding Dress Preservation

The most critical part of shipping a dress is choosing a strong box that can withstand the journey. It's important to pick a box that's just the perfect size for your dress; if it's too big, you'll spend more on shipping, and if it's too small, your dress could get creased or crushed. Dresses should fit snugly in boxes measuring between 24 by 18 by 5 and 18 by 16 by 9.

The best way to fold your wedding dress depends on the fabric and the silhouette. Too much pressure when folding could ruin the fabric of the dress, so it's better to fold it neatly so that it fits in the box without squishing it.

After folding your clothing, cover it with plastic to prevent wrinkles. If your gown gets dirty while being shipped, this will help prevent that.

You should use sturdy shipping tape to seal all of the box's flaps.

If you want the shipping label to stay on the box during sending, don't place it over the tape.

Various Other Nuggets of Wisdom:

The cost to ship a dress depends on several factors, including the dress's size, its weight, and the distance it must travel. Most shipping websites provide their customers with shipping estimate calculators that can provide a rough approximation of the total cost.

Do not just buy outfit insurance based on the price you paid for it. This way, if the dress gets damaged or destroyed in transit, you won't have to pay for the costs or make up for the loss to the customer.

The most reliable firm for international shipping of your outfit is DHL.

Avoid the awkwardness of having left a dress on a stranger's doorstep by having the postal service insist on a signature upon delivery.

What Kind of Box Should I Use for Shipping?

Whether you're ordering a box to mail anything in plastic or tissue paper, having both options available is a big help.

Using such a box like this is preferable because it is not only the right size for your dress but also comes with acid-free wrapping paper to protect it during shipping.

Make Do With a Solid Little Box

A box that's 14 inches by 12 inches by 10 inches works great for the majority of my outfits. The trick is to locate a container that is just big enough to hold the dress without leaving any excess space around it. It's best to have a completely packed box, as small as possible, so that your belongings don't shift about during shipping.

You can get cardboard boxes of all sizes for cheap from your local office supplies store or post office. A box should be chosen that can contain the dress without squishing it or causing any damage to the delicate details. It could be too big to mail in the box you got from the dry cleaner. The average wedding gown can be stored in a box that is 43 x 30 x 14 cm / 18 x 16 x 9 in.

Size typically carries a higher price tag than does weight. My dresses, for instance, typically weigh approximately five lbs, but because they require a larger box, they could weigh around 8 pounds and the pricing would still be the same.

If you want to get something done, build the tiniest box possible. There is usually an extra fee for boxes that are longer than 12 inches.

Shipping Costs

Costs for shipping packages are based on their weight or their cubic weight, whatever is higher. It's bad news for everyone if the dress is as light as a feather but is packed in a large box with loads of cushioning, as the bowling ball's cubic weight is assessed by the size of the box.

Wrap In Acid-Free Paper

Arrange the dress on top of a sheet of wrapping paper on a flat surface. The best materials for packing are white acid-free tissue paper or unbleached muslin. The acid in regular tissue paper can eat away at the fabric of the garment.

The Hanger Should Not Be Sent. Keep It Somewhere Other Than The Bride's Bag.

Hangers are available at hotels, you have some, and so do I and your pals. You should expect to find a hanger for the dress wherever it is being sent. If a smaller, softer product will do, there's no reason to add a bulky, tough one to the package. Then there are the cumbersome bridal bags; remove your dress from its bag, leave it aside, and fold the bag up so it fits neatly at the bottom of the box.

Carefully Fold The Dress.

Put tissue paper in between each layer of the dress as you fold it. If the garment has gems or other embellishments, this is very crucial. Tissue paper will prevent the dress from getting caught on tulle as well.

Boning (plastic at the bust like a corset) can cause your dress to deform its shape, therefore fold after that. Finally, drape the skirt around your head and coil it up. Don't forget about the size box you have, and I personally like to tuck in my garment as I roll to prevent it from spreading out.

I'll repeat this process multiple times until everything fits snugly and there are no harsh wrinkles in the box.

Put In a Ziploc Bag

After stuffing the folded garment with tissue paper, seal the opening of a large plastic bag over it. In the highly improbable event that the box becomes wet or rain damaged, this will be helpful. Even while plastic shouldn't be used for storage over the long term, it's fine for transport.

For protection from the outdoors, vacuum bags are ideal, and they also assist you to compact a large quantity of tulle or crinoline. If you want to help out, there's no need to go to the trouble of doing a thorough vacuum; just getting rid of some of the air will do

Turning the garment inside out can help protect the delicate outer fabric from damage while it's being shipped if it has a lot of beading or other embellishments. If that seems too challenging, you can always use cloth or tissue paper to wrap the beads in.

Tape It Up Tight.

Seal the box securely with some sturdy tape. The introduction may require more than one reading. To secure a printed shipping label to a box, tape it firmly in place, covering the entire label and making sure no seams show. If the box already has labels on it, remove them. You wouldn't want the dress to end up in the wrong hands.

Finally, label the package with "WEDDING GOWN" to alert delivery personnel to handle the dress with care.

Ribbon

Wrapping the dress in a white or blue ribbon adds a sophisticated finishing touch. It's easy to imagine the buyer's reaction upon discovering such a stunning item.

Get That Dress Shipped!

What do you believe happens between the factory and the bridal store when a wedding dress is made? If you have someone to receive it at the other end, shipping your wedding dress is entirely secure. I don't mean the banquet manager at any old hotel, but rather the person or company who is planning your wedding or supplying your other goods. A hotel or rental agency is not the place to send something without seeing the contents first, as you will have no one to hold accountable if the package goes missing upon your arrival. Stop taking chances and just do it.

However, if you know where you will be landing when you get there, sending your wedding dress is a perfectly acceptable option. Simply by adhering to these suggestions:

Know in advance whether shipping companies offer daily, weekly, or monthly service to your location (not everyone visits our island, for example, on a daily basis). Do your best to coordinate this with the person you'll be sending the package to, and if they recommend a specific shipping provider, you should definitely go with that one! This person has no reason to lie. If you have been warned that the shipper you are considering using is unreliable at your destination, it is not a smart idea to send it out for free using your company's corporate account.

After your last fitting, let the dress shop wrap your wedding dress in the box and leave it there. If you want your dress to make it to its destination in one piece, resist the impulse to model it again; you will never be able to get all the tissue paper back into its proper place. If you're buying your dress from a store, let them handle the packing—they have the right boxes and the expertise to do it well. Even if the bridal shop employees try to convince you otherwise, you should listen to your own judgement as the paying client. The store is obligated to alter the outfit to your specifications. Some speciality shops will even mail it for you! . It's best if you send it off yourself so you can check for accuracy.

Write the recipient's phone number multiple times and the words "WEDDING GOWN" in large, bold characters all over the outside of the box. Because they are emotional humans, most delivery persons will handle your wedding dress with additional care if you let them know.

Put as much money as you can into the box.  The regulations of various carriers are different.  If you don't want to risk looking unprepared, dress to the nines. My belief is that packages with enough insurance are given preferential treatment over those sent via standard parcel delivery. Further, the cost of insurance is usually reasonable.

Get your wedding dress to the bride as soon as possible. Priority mail is processed more quickly and is less likely to be buried under a mountain of packages for days. Get the other person who will be wearing your dress to know that it is on its way and how it will be arriving. Then, maintain communication until its arrival.

If you are having your wedding planner store your dress, you can ask her to remove it from the packaging and hang it up for you. Humidity in a tropical region has the potential to steam out creases even before you arrive. You don't know where the stranger will keep it, or if there's a large hairy black dog lurking there to shed on it, so it's best to have them leave it in the sealed box.

Make sure you bring along a portable steamer or iron in case you need to touch up your dress or veil before the big day. They are experts on the merchandise they sell and can provide you with excellent guidance. Think things through in advance. Last-minute requests to borrow steam could be futile if your final destination is located in a far-flung area.

No matter how beautiful or delicate it may appear, a wedding garment is still simply fabric. SOLID TEXTILE, not fragile glass.

It's true that not all textiles are created equal when it comes to transportation. Although chiffon easily wrinkles, it may be quickly smoothed out with a steam iron. Tulle sometimes only needs some time to hang loose after being transported, and wrinkles practically come out. Lace, on the other hand, hides wrinkles well, so it transports like a dream. Here are some other suggestions for steaming.