A bride to be has gone viral after revealing she bought an extra Ryanair ticket so her wedding dress could fly beside her. In her TikTok video, the gown sits in the window seat, buckled in like a proper passenger. The creator, @misskellymaria, said she wanted total peace of mind on travel day, even if it meant paying for a second seat. The clip sparked a wave of reactions from people who either applauded the idea or shared their own chaotic dress travel stories.
In the video caption, she summed up her mindset with a blunt line, saying, “No way my wedding dress is leaving my sight.” She explained that Ryanair allowed the dress in the cabin, but only if she reserved an additional seat specifically for it. That meant the dress was not treated like a typical carry on item that gets shoved into an overhead bin. Instead, it got its own space right next to her for the entire flight.
She also described what happened before boarding, because the dress still had to go through airport security like everything else. In the comments, she wrote, “I had to put it in a tray for screening, but there were no issues.” Once she reached the gate, she said the process was simple as long as both boarding passes were ready to show. She added, “At the gate, you just show both boarding passes because the extra seat is separate and has its own one.”
Her replies also turned into a mini guide for other brides and anyone traveling with delicate items. She warned that policies can vary a lot between airlines, even when the items seem similar. As she put it, “Every airline has its own policy, so it is best to check everything and ask for confirmation so you are sure.” That advice landed because plenty of travelers have learned the hard way that assumptions at the airport rarely end well.
Ryanair’s own rules do allow certain items that are not suitable for the cargo hold to travel in the cabin on a paid extra seat, including fragile instruments and wedding dresses, as long as they can be safely secured. The airline also has a specific way it wants these seats booked, with the surname entered as “Item seat” and the first name entered as “Extra.” On the boarding pass, it shows up as “Extra Item seat,” and the seat does not come with extra baggage allowance even though it is an additional purchase. Ryanair also notes that exit row seats cannot be used for this purpose, including rows 1, 16, and 17, according to Ryanair.
@misskellymaria It’s the seatbelt for me🤣 There was no way my wedding dress was leaving my side & we were allowed it on board providing we booked an additional fare & seat. Each airline will have a different policy so best to check & get it reconfirmed by a separate person just to be sure 👍 #weddingdress #destinationwedding #weddingtok #couplecomdey #italywedding ♬ original sound – 🫶🏼
The comments under the viral post quickly became a group chat of confessions, jokes, and travel hacks. One person wrote, “I just bought a Ryanair seat for my dress, hahaha.” Another shared the opposite approach and a much less glamorous outcome, saying, “Mine was crushed into a carry on bag through four flights and a ferry.” The range of experiences made it clear that people will do almost anything to avoid showing up at their wedding with a wrinkled, damaged, or misplaced gown.
Some replies were funny in that painfully relatable way that only travel stories can be. One bride claimed the dress actually got a better ticket than she did, saying, “Mine was in first class and I was in the back row of economy.” Another commenter laughed at the visual of the gown living its best life in the cabin and added, “And you even gave it the window seat, exactly as it deserves.” The humor worked because there is something both absurd and completely understandable about treating a wedding dress like precious cargo.
Underneath the jokes, the story taps into a real anxiety that many travelers recognize, especially on low cost carriers where baggage rules can feel strict and unpredictable. A wedding dress is not just expensive, it is emotionally loaded, often delicate, and usually difficult to replace on short notice. Even a small tear, a stain, or a lost bag can turn a dream week into a crisis. For many brides, paying for a seat can feel less like a splurge and more like insurance.
For anyone planning to fly with a wedding dress, the practical takeaway is to plan early and get clarity in writing where possible. Many airlines treat wedding dresses as cabin baggage only if they fit within size limits, while others may allow a garment bag but still require it to be stowed overhead. Some travelers use folding techniques and tissue paper to reduce creasing, while others ask flight attendants if there is a closet on board, which is more common on some full service airlines. Security screening will still happen, so having a simple way to fold or present the garment can help keep things calm at the checkpoint.
Ryanair is an Irish ultra low cost airline known for point to point routes across Europe and a fee based model for add ons, including baggage and seat selection, which is why travelers pay close attention to its policies. Wedding dresses fall into a broader category of special items that airlines sometimes treat differently than standard luggage, alongside instruments and certain medical equipment. In general, an item traveling on its own seat must be able to be restrained safely, since unsecured objects can become hazards during turbulence. That is why airlines often have detailed rules about where these seats can be located and why exit rows are typically off limits.
If you were flying to your wedding, would you buy an extra seat for your dress or risk packing it, and why, share your thoughts in the comments.
