Could not find how to search for this topic--one bag packing for wedding

I reckon you should ask those people who post in the Packing forum. There are some absolute experts there: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/packing

I have not traveled internationally for a wedding but we have traveled domestically on budget airlines with very strict luggage guidelines. I am assuming you are part of a couple and one party will wear a dress and the other a suit. A few observations:

First pick a dress that doesn't require special care. I wore a dress to my nephews wedding that could be rolled up and did not need ironing. It was a knit dress. Having recently shopped for my son’s wedding, there are certainly dresses available. You probably want shoes that are not walking shoes but I would bring sandals. I have some naturalizers with 2.5 inch heels that are dressy enough and take very little room. If there is a rehearsal dinner, I would make sure you can wear the same shoes. I would consider wearing a dress you can wear otherwise on your trip so you don’t have two special occasion dresses.

My son has traveled on Frontier for weddings and he always wears his wedding clothes to travel in. I don’t know if that is the best for overnight travel but consider wearing the jacket at least and folding it to be on top of your luggage during flight. I frankly think it is easier for women as a carefully chosen dress and sandals don’t take up as much room as a suit and dress shoes. One suggestion is for the men’s dress shoes to be comfortable enough they can be worn as a secondary shoe during the rest of the trip. in other words, they are one of two pairs of shoes the man brings. There are now comfort dress shoes for men too-it is all my husband will wear anyway.

I have a dress that is made of some kind of jersey knit fabric that does not wrinkle. It packs up really small and comes out looking beautiful. I can't look at the label right now, because it's in my bin of summer clothes in the basement, and chances are I cut out the label, anyway, because they irritate my skin. But I suggest looking for something in a knit that doesn't wrinkle.

You can search for dresses that don't wrinkle.

Here are some results I got when I did that:

https://www.travelandleisure.com/style/fashion/wrinkle-resistant-dresses

https://www.oprahdaily.com/style/g27288438/comfortable-travel-dresses/

These show summer options, and some wouldn't be suitable, but, of course, there are winter knit dresses, as well.

Some other ideas:

https://www.neimanmarcus.com/en-ca/c/designers-eileen-fisher-cat000045?type=Dresses&priorityProdId=prod266440007&icid=VN_TopLevel_EileenFisher_Boutique_Dresses_111023

https://www.macys.com/shop/featured/jersey%20knit%20dress

Here's my packing report from my trip this past summer. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/packing/northern-italy-packing-report The trip included a wedding - I was only a guest, not a family member. Both the pre-wedding dress and cocktail dress I wore to the wedding unpacked beautifully. The pre-wedding dinner dress was a poly/cotton blend. The cocktail dress was a lace poly sheath dress. The lace made the dress more "forgiving" wrinkle-wise. Both evenings I wore the pashmina scarf as the sun went down.

You can “dress up” any of the dresses suggested with an open-front jacket like this one from Nordstrom:

https://www.nordstrom.com/s/v-neck-open-front-jacket/7041874

I bought mine on sale for $70–it does go on sale from time to time. This jacket is lightweight and pretty much wrinkle-proof. I took mine to Italy (Puglia) last March and it looked as good at the end of the 3-week trip as it did at the beginning. I wore it on the plane (I always want a light jacket for the flight) and often packed it in my 22” suitcase on “travel days” after that, I folded it lengthwise and packed it flat on top of everything else.

As for the black color, don’t worry. I learned when I was “Mother of the Groom” twice in one year a few years back that the old rule about not wearing black to a wedding no longer applies. Especially if you wear the black jacket over a dress with some lighter color to it. The Mother of the Bride at one of the weddings must have read the same advice, as her dress was almost all black. She looked great and very “chic”. My outfit was a long black skirt with a fitted silk jacket in a nice print in red and black on white. Note—-it is considered wise to consult with the bride’s mom on the dress code—-mainly on dress length (long or short) and possibly color scheme (so you don’t clash with the bridesmaids (if any) or others in the wedding photos.

I keep getting ads on Facebook for suitcases that are specially designed to hold a suit on the outside and then a kinda duffel inside. The videos make it seem like it's quite possible.

Don't get hung up on checked bags, the times they don't arrive where they are intended are pretty rare.

Thank you, everyone. You've given me great ideas. I'm not averse to checking a bag, but travel is so much easier with only one, carryon-type. Thank you, Rick Steves!!

There is a YouTube video from the channel "It's the Kellys" that is focused specifically on packing for a weekend wedding, in carry-on only, that might be helpful.

Thank you for the YouTube vid! Looking forward to watching it!

This is the sort of bag I was talking about, have no personal experience but if it can take a suit it can take a dress

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDIAy1OcmFk

Loved the Kellys videos. Thank you for those. I also like the suit duffle, but am not sure whether hubs will try to check something. My fear is that a checked bag would not catch up with us in time to be of use.

Thanks so much for all the help.

The British always wears hats or fascinator to weddings.

I don't think hats are as much a "requirement" at weddings these days. My British friend wore a hat for her son's wedding in 2011, but not for her daughter's wedding this year. So I would not worry about having one unless that's your style, or family members are requested to wear one for some reason.

The dress code at British weddings can be different to American ones. British weddings are always in day dress, eg no floor length gowns for guests, no black dresses. It’s fairly common for mother of the bride/groom to wear a hat or fascinator but it’s not essential.

The ceremony is in the afternoon, generally at any time between 12-4 (4pm would be late. Most big weddings are at 12 or 1pm) and the celebration continues to the evening through drinks, sit down meal, evening band or disco, evening buffet. You don’t change outfit.