In June, I was a bridesmaid for one of my dear sister friend’s wedding. I was also one of the photographers. One would think that this meant that I would have packed like an average person with a carryon and a personal item since I had both my camera and a floor-length bridesmaid dress. But no, friends, I did not. I’ll tell you why: I was flying Spirit airlines and didn’t pay for a bag. Even for a wedding. My summer budget was tighter than Kris Jenner’s browline. I barely had the funds to get the ticket and such. So let me give you the lowdown on how I maintained my one-ish bag packing set up, even for a wedding.
Borrow shoes: Firstestly (you read this absolutely correct), I am fortunate that most of my friends wear the same size shoe that I do. One of my friend’s and the bride all had extra shoes for me to borrow for the ceremony.
Fannypack the small things: Items that would typically go into my purse, went into the fanny pack: wallet, phone, lippie, etc. In place of a purse, I rocked the fanny pack and packed a tote bag as a purse when I needed it.
Camera Sleeve: Most airlines that I have flown do not say anything about carrying a camera in hand. Many times when I travel with my camera, I place it is a neoprene camera sleeve. I back my camera body and two lenses. When I am feeling extra McGuyver-like, I can fit my baby RodeMic and my battery charger. I do have to be careful that the weight does not pull the sleeve off the camera, dropping my lens. I have had this happen, and it is kind of terrifying.
Compress the dress: My bridesmaid dress was not super bulky. It was sleeveless and floor-length, which I thought I might be able to fold and flatten in a large ziplock bag. I received one in an order that I got in the mail soft packed it. Luckily, I was able to fold it as flat as possible and push the rest of the air out of the bag before fully sealing it. When I got to New York, I immediately took it out of the Ziploc bag and hung it up so that some of the wrinkles could begin to fall out. Those that did not, I steamed out.
Have you ever had to pack for a wedding in a small piece of luggage?
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