A bride had a 24 hour stomach bug on her wedding day – and despite fainting during the ceremony and leaving the reception early says the day was still “special”.<br /><br />Lili Folkrod, 31, woke up feeling “a little off” on the morning of her wedding but put it down to nerves.<br /><br />After her morning croissant, she realised she had a stomach bug but decided to go ahead with the wedding – which had already been cancelled once due to Covid.<br /><br />She got ready slowly with the help of her now husband Aaron, 28, a technician, before making her way to the church.<br /><br />Lili fainted during the ceremony, felt dizzy during the first dance, didn’t eat a thing and had to leave early but still thought the day was “special”.<br /><br />Lili Folkrod, who works in retail management, Boka Raton, Florida, said: “I thought I was just nervous.<br /><br />"I tried to eat a croissant and felt a gurgle in my stomach.<br /><br />“I know something was not right.<br /><br />“I broke the seal – the rest of the day was a nightmare.<br /><br />“It was brutal.”<br /><br />Lili and Aaron met through mutual friends and got engaged in August 2021.<br /><br />They planned to have a traditional Armenian wedding in summer 2022 but decided to postpone because of Covid.<br /><br />Lili said: “We didn’t feel it was safe with Covid.”<br /><br />The pair had their legal ceremony in June 2022 but finally flew out to Vayots Dzor, Armenia, for their wedding in July 2023.<br /><br />Lili said: “It was my dream to get married there.<br /><br />“Aaron has embraced my culture.”<br /><br />Lili said she is prone to a stomach bug and woke up feeling unwell on the day of her wedding.<br /><br />After attempting to have some breakfast, she realised she couldn’t keep food down.<br /><br />She said: “We got to the motel – I had to stop after each step.<br /><br />“From putting on my dress to doing my make-up – I had to go all the time.<br /><br />“We all prayed for me.<br /><br />“I thought - we need to power through it.”<br /><br />Lili took Pepto-Bismol – to try and ease her nausea – before walking down the aisle at Norawvank Monastery, Yeghegnadzor, Armenia.<br /><br />She said: “A traditional Armenia wedding ceremony takes a long time.<br /><br />“We were in a monastery with no air con and we were all packed in there.<br /><br />“I was so hot.<br /><br />“I had been super de-hydrated.<br /><br />“All of a sudden I started blacking out.<br /><br />“I said - I need to sit down.<br /><br />“It was right before we were going to take the vows and exchange the rings.”<br /><br />Lili managed to get back up and finished the ceremony before going straight into photos.<br /><br />She said: “We were trying to do photos and I started blacking out again.<br /><br />“The photographer said – ‘can you pretend you’re happy’?<br /><br />“I haven’t had the photos back yet but I don’t think they’re going to be the best.”<br /><br />Lili went back to the hotel for a short lie down and changed into her second outfit.<br /><br />She said: “It was a relief as it was shorter.<br /><br />“I arrived at the wedding, from there I was just miserable.<br /><br />“I didn’t eat anything at our wedding. I literally couldn’t.<br /><br />“I was really dizzy during the first dance.<br /><br />“I had to leave early. I left in the early evening.<br /><br />“I had to go back and lie down.<br /><br />“Everyone kept parting until one in the morning.”<br /><br />The next day Lili felt pretty much back to normal but stayed resting in bed before enjoying a few more days in Armenia with her family.<br /><br />Lili said: “Looking back on it I know it was super special.<br /><br />“I’m content – at the end of the day we did our thing.”
