Question: I am getting married in Thailand, and as airlines will only allow you one small bag as hand luggage now, I'm wondering how to transport my wedding dress. With the endless tales of lost luggage, I don't want to check it in as hold baggage. Is there a dress bag that folds up like some of the suit bags do, so that I can take it on as my one item of hand luggage. Veronica Smith, London

Answer: Your wedding dress is not on any airline's list of items that are banned onboard, so you can carry it as a hand luggage. However, the regulation for the dress is the same as for any other cabin item. It has to conform to the size regulation set by the airline. These regulations vary from airline to airline.

On Thai Airways your wedding dress will be your main item of luggage allowed on board. But you can travel with an additional item, like a small handbag. The crew might agree to hang the dress in the coat closet in business class only if there is space available. In winter time it is likely that it will be stuffed with coats.

British Airways allows a 56 x 45 x 25cm bag, which must not exceed 23kg, and an additional laptop-sized piece of hand luggage. With Air France the luggage is slightly smaller and the weight limit is 12 kg.

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The best you can do if you want to be sure your dress will not end up creased from the flight, is to use a wedding dress travel box rather than a folding bag - they cost from £29 on this website, www.emptybox.co.uk, but you may decide a cheaper, similar box might be just as good.

Just ensure that the dimension of the box you choose fits the airline hand luggage requirement. For Thai Airways, the maximum size is 56 x 45 x 25cm, and it must not exceed 7 kg. Some shops, like www.dressinabox.co.uk, supply smaller boxes for airlines with more meagre luggage allowances.

You may want to read the forum on the You and Your Wedding magazine website between brides facing a similar challenge.

The wedding dress question isn't the only issue you're no doubt facing. An exotic wedding adds other unexpected dimensions to the adventure. Did you know that a bride cannot travel home under her married name?

Even if you can have a new passport made with your new surname three months in advance of the wedding date, people who get married abroad must avoid it.

Indeed, your current passport is cancelled to create the new one that will only be valid from the day the ceremony occurs. There is no legal obligation for a woman to take her husband’s name after the wedding, so the most convenient option is to travel back with the “maiden passport”.

The embassy of the destination country (Thailand in this case) will supply details about the documents needed for a marriage abroad.

A selection of useful tips on getting married abroad is available online at www.weddingguideuk.com and www.confetti.co.uk.

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