As anyone who’s worn a wedding dress will tell you, going to the bathroom in one of these garments is no easy feat. You’re worried about accidentally peeing on the dress or the possibility of the gown grazing the gross bathroom floor. You also have to deal with a lack of privacy: Having a bridesmaid or two in the stall with you to hold up the dress while you relieve yourself is not an ideal scenario, particularly if you’re pee shy.
A bride named Tina, who got married in May 2018, came up with a brilliant solution, which she shared on the blog Ikea Hackers. It addresses the above concerns, costs next to nothing and doesn’t require any special DIY skills. All you need is one of those big blue Frakta shopping bags from Ikea ($1.49), a pair of scissors and five minutes. (Tina asked that we not include her last name and wedding location, as to protect her privacy.)
It’s basically a DIY version of the Bridal Buddy, a product featured on “Shark Tank,” that runs about $34 on Amazon — which Tina told HuffPost was “too much, especially when I saw the quality of the fabric.” The steep price of the Bridal Buddy and some stress about possibly having her period on the big day prompted Tina to get creative and come up with her own solution.
“I wore a mermaid dress, so I couldn’t use the sit backward, facing the toilet technique. It can’t be done with this kind of dress, not with mine anyway,” she said. “Also, and more importantly, I was concerned about having my period on my wedding day and wanted to have the possibility to be alone to change my period protection. It means I’d need both hands free, which is not the case if you put your dress in your petticoat and hold it.”
Though Tina had a bunch of those Ikea bags lying around at home, she bought a new one for the occasion to make sure it was clean as a whistle. Here’s how she created her own bridal bathroom helper:
STEP 1: Fold the Ikea bag in half long ways.
STEP 2: Cut a hole in the middle of the bottom of the bag. Start small and make it bigger if needed. “The bag hole must be close to the bride’s body, so it is better to cut a smaller hole, then enlarge it if it is too small,” Tina said.
STEP 3: Step into the bag, placing your feet through the hole.
STEP 4: Pull the bag up, putting one long strap over each shoulder. If your hips don’t fit through the hole, take it off and make it slightly larger and then try it on again.
On the big day, you can leave the Ikea bag in a private bathroom at your venue or ask one of your bridesmaids to set it aside for you.
When you need to pee, grab the bag and just step in. You can even leave your shoes on, but make sure you don’t step onto the bag, Tina cautioned, because that could get your dress dirty.
Then put the bottom of your dress into the bag and pull the longer straps up onto your shoulders like so:
“It works so well,” Tina said. “I put a sign that read ‘bride only’ on one toilet door to have a private toilet. It is easier and the floor stays clean, which is better to keep a clean wedding dress. I left the bag in the bathroom hanging from the coat hook.”
When the hack went viral, some sites reported that Tina’s DJ was the one who took the photos and posted the images on social media. But that was not the case, she said.
“I don’t know the DJ who shared my hack on his Facebook page,” she said. “One of my bridesmaids took the picture as she was the only one with me inside the toilet and let me alone after.”
So there you have it. Now don’t worry, pee happy.
Before You Go
