For couples planning a destination wedding, the logistics of safely transporting a wedding dress can be a major headache. One resourceful bride-to-be found a novel solution: she bought her precious gown its own seat on the plane.
The Viral Flight with a Fancy Passenger
In a TikTok video that has captured widespread attention, user @misskellymaria shared her unique travel hack. Determined not to let her dress out of her sight, she booked an additional airline seat specifically for the outfit. "There was no way my wedding dress was leaving my side & we were allowed it on board providing we booked an additional fare & seat," Kelly explained in her video caption.
Footage from the flight, which appears to be on a Ryanair aircraft, shows the dress secured in the window seat next to her, complete with a seatbelt fastened across it for safety. The garment even had its own boarding pass for the assigned seat.
Navigating Airline Policy and Security
Kelly was careful to highlight that policies vary between carriers. "Each airline will have a different policy so best to check & get it reconfirmed by a separate person just to be sure," she advised fellow travellers. Her experience involved putting the dress through the standard airport security scanners in a tray, which she reported posed no issues.
Ryanair's official policy accommodates such requests. It states that items unsuitable for the hold, like wedding dresses, may be carried in the cabin if secured safely in a paid-for extra seat. To book, passengers must enter "Item seat" as the last name and "Extra" as the first name on the booking form, creating a passenger listed as "Extra Item seat." Travel document details are required at check-in for the extra seat, though it does not include a baggage allowance. Seats in rows 1, 16, and 17, including emergency exit rows, cannot be used for this purpose.
How Other Travellers Handle the Dress Dilemma
The TikTok video sparked a flurry of comments from other brides sharing their own experiences. One person admitted, "I just bought a seat on a Ryanair flight for my dress hahah," while another took a more compact approach: "Mine was squished in a carry-on case across four flights and a boat."
Some stories highlighted less predictable outcomes. One bride recounted, "Mine got put in First Class while I sat back row economy," proving that even with the best plans, airlines can sometimes have their own ideas. Another commenter humorously approved of Kelly's setup, quipping, "And you gave it the window seat it deserves."
This creative solution underscores the lengths to which couples will go to ensure every detail of their big day is perfect, even if it means their dress becomes a very well-dressed, ticketed passenger.
