The idea itself may seem counter-intuitive, but generally speaking, a destination wedding is widely recognized as being easier to coordinate for a bride and groom than a wedding that takes place closer to home. When you think about it, that makes sense, because most destinations have packages that the bride and groom can choose from, and from there, they can simply let the professionals at the venue handle most of the logistics.
Anthony Zeoli, a young attorney from Chicago who is getting married on a cruise ship next month, tends to agree.
“Generally, there is a coordinator at the destination who handles everything from finding vendors and getting quotes,” said Zeoli. “It’s been more of then just having to choose between the options given. The only issue comes when trying to picture the venues in our minds, since we’re not there to see them.”
Is that it?
“Well, and also somehow getting the wedding dress to Florida without having to pay for an extra plane ticket,” he added.
Apparently, Southwest Airlines does not offer a contingency for this unforeseen dilemma, of which Zeoli recently inquired about on Tuesday. When he reached a representative from Southwest to ask how he can safely get the bride’s dress from Chicago to Florida, he was offered two solutions: 1) Fold it and place it in the overhead bin or beneath his seat, or 2) purchase a separate ticket for the dress.
Because folding the dress and hoping there’s room in a bin is out of the question, option No. 2 is all he’s left with.
“All I’m asking for is space in the coat closet,” said Zeoli. “That’s it. Is that unreasonable?”
I don’t think so. But in the spirit of full disclosure, Zeoli is a friend of mine. In fact, I will be attending this wedding and supporting him as one of his groomsmen. So, perhaps my perspective in this matter would be unfairly biased.
It should be noted, however, that Uproxx’s own travel editor, Steve Bramucci, sides with Southwest. “[Whether or not an airline should provide closet space for a wedding dress] depends on what sort of system we believe an airplane is,” said Bramucci. “Is it a socialist system in which we share for collective betterment? Or a capitalist system in which people buy the right to equal opportunity depending on boarding zone. Southwest has always seemed very capitalistic.”
Fair enough.
What do you say, Uproxx readers? Should this couple have to pay for an extra full-price ticket for a dress? Or is it a reasonable request to ask Southwest Airlines to make a simple exception for a bride and groom on their special day?
