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”.

Lili Folkrod, 31, woke up feeling “a little off” on the morning of her wedding but put it down to nerves.

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.

She got ready slowly with the help of her now husband Aaron, 28, a technician, before making her way to the church.

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”.

Lili Folkrod, who works in retail management, Boka Raton, Florida, said: “I thought I was just nervous.

"I tried to eat a croissant and felt a gurgle in my stomach.

“I know something was not right.

“I broke the seal – the rest of the day was a nightmare.

“It was brutal.”

Lili and Aaron met through mutual friends and got engaged in August 2021.

They planned to have a traditional Armenian wedding in summer 2022 but decided to postpone because of Covid.

Lili said: “We didn’t feel it was safe with Covid.”

The pair had their legal ceremony in June 2022 but finally flew out to Vayots Dzor, Armenia, for their wedding in July 2023.

Lili said: “It was my dream to get married there.

“Aaron has embraced my culture.”

Lili said she is prone to a stomach bug and woke up feeling unwell on the day of her wedding.

After attempting to have some breakfast, she realised she couldn’t keep food down.

She said: “We got to the motel – I had to stop after each step.

“From putting on my dress to doing my make-up – I had to go all the time.

“We all prayed for me.

“I thought - we need to power through it.”

Lili took Pepto-Bismol – to try and ease her nausea – before walking down the aisle at Norawvank Monastery, Yeghegnadzor, Armenia.

She said: “A traditional Armenia wedding ceremony takes a long time.

“We were in a monastery with no air con and we were all packed in there.

“I was so hot.

“I had been super de-hydrated.

“All of a sudden I started blacking out.

“I said - I need to sit down.

“It was right before we were going to take the vows and exchange the rings.”

Lili managed to get back up and finished the ceremony before going straight into photos.

She said: “We were trying to do photos and I started blacking out again.

“The photographer said – ‘can you pretend you’re happy’?

“I haven’t had the photos back yet but I don’t think they’re going to be the best.”

Lili went back to the hotel for a short lie down and changed into her second outfit.

She said: “It was a relief as it was shorter.

“I arrived at the wedding, from there I was just miserable.

“I didn’t eat anything at our wedding. I literally couldn’t.

“I was really dizzy during the first dance.

“I had to leave early. I left in the early evening.

“I had to go back and lie down.

“Everyone kept parting until one in the morning.”

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.

Lili said: “Looking back on it I know it was super special.

“I’m content – at the end of the day we did our thing.”