Abroad Wedding with Chronic Illness

Getting Married Abroad with Chronic Illness:

Our Cyprus Wedding & Everything I Learnt

In May 2025, after being together since we were teenagers, Rob and I finally got married in Cyprus, surrounded by around 100 of our wonderful friends and family who travelled out to celebrate with us. It was honestly the wedding of DREAMS!

As somebody living with multiple disabling chronic illnesses, including Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS), PoTS, Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), cervical instability and vestibular migraine, planning a wedding abroad involved a whole lot more than choosing a venue, flowers and a dress. From making sure the accommodation was suitable for my severe allergies, to organising safe food, preparing medical supplies, managing my energy and setting boundaries around fragrances and physical contact, there were SO many additional things to consider.

I was incredibly fortunate that my health was relatively manageable throughout our celebrations, although that certainly didn't happen without an enormous amount of preparation behind the scenes. So I thought I'd share how we planned our wedding, the adaptations I made, what worked particularly well and the things I'd recommend thinking about if you're considering getting married abroad with chronic illness or a disability.

Everyone's needs will be completely different, but hopefully some of the little things that made our wedding accessible for me might help somebody else plan their own special day!

CHOOSING CYPRUS AND FINDING AN ACCESSIBLE WEDDING VENUE

Rob and I have always loved travelling, so the idea of getting married abroad felt really special to us. We'd spent years dreaming about exploring the world together before my health became significantly more disabling, and travelling has continued to be a huge part of our lives, even though it now requires an enormous amount of preparation and adaptation.

Choosing a wedding destination wasn't simply about finding somewhere beautiful, though. I needed to consider everything from the flight time and journey to the hotel, to the climate, accessibility, food and whether the accommodation could meet my MCAS requirements. Cyprus felt like a lovely option for us, with beautiful beaches, warm weather and the opportunity to turn our wedding into a longer celebration with our favourite people.

We chose Nissi Beach Resort, which provided the most gorgeous Mediterranean setting for our celebrations. Naturally, I was excited about how everything would look, but I was equally interested in how the venue would actually work for me throughout the day. With hEDS, standing for long periods can aggravate my joint instability, whilst walking over uneven surfaces, repeatedly bending or navigating lots of stairs can become challenging. My PoTS, cervical instability and vestibular migraine also mean I need to think carefully about prolonged standing, seating and unnecessary journeys between locations.

I wanted to minimise how much travelling around we'd need to do on the wedding day and make sure I had opportunities to sit and rest when necessary. It's something I'd really recommend considering when choosing any wedding venue, whether abroad or at home.

How far will you need to walk between the ceremony, reception and toilets?
Are there steps or uneven pathways?
Is there somewhere quiet and comfortable to rest?
Can the schedule be adjusted to avoid unnecessary movement and fatigue?

It's SO easy to fall in love with a beautiful venue without considering how you'll actually feel spending an entire day there. For me, the aim was to find somewhere that allowed us to have the celebration we'd always imagined, whilst making it as manageable as possible for my body.

ARRIVING NINE DAYS EARLY AND PACING MYSELF

A great decision we made was travelling to Cyprus nine days before our wedding. I know that might seem like quite a long time, but travelling itself can be incredibly physically demanding for me. Between airport journeys, prolonged sitting with my cervical instability, vestibular migraine, environmental triggers and the possibility of symptom flare-ups, I knew I didn't want to arrive just a day or two before getting married and hope for the best.

Having those extra days gave me time to recover from the journey, adjust to the environment, organise anything that needed sorting and gradually build up to the celebrations. It also meant that if I did experience a flare-up, there was more time to rest before the wedding rather than having the pressure of feeling well immediately.

I spent time doing gentle hydrotherapy in the sea, which is something I find really helpful for my joints because the water supports my body and allows me to move with less pressure through them. We also deliberately kept some days relatively quiet, rather than treating the trip as an opportunity to squeeze in as many activities as possible.

Something I've learnt from years of living with chronic illness is that even the most enjoyable activities can take a physical toll. Weddings are particularly tricky because there's so much excitement, and of course you want to be involved in absolutely everything! We were incredibly lucky to have so many friends and family travel out to celebrate with us, so there were lots of opportunities to socialise in the days beforehand.

I had to be realistic about how much of that I could manage, particularly because I wanted to feel as well as possible for the actual wedding. Sometimes that meant missing gatherings, leaving earlier than everybody else or spending time resting whilst others were out enjoying themselves. It's not always easy when you're excited and don't want to miss out, but I'd learnt from previous experiences that pushing myself too hard can have consequences for days afterwards.

I think this is such an important consideration when planning a wedding with chronic illness. It's easy to focus on pacing yourself during the ceremony and reception, but the days leading up to it can be just as demanding. If your circumstances allow, arriving early and building proper recovery time into the schedule can make an enormous difference.

PREPARING OUR ACCOMMODATION FOR MCAS

One of the most complicated aspects of planning our wedding was making sure the accommodation would be suitable for my MCAS. I have severe reactions to fragrances, laundry detergents, cleaning products and various other environmental triggers, which means staying somewhere unfamiliar requires a LOT of extra preparation.

Things that most people wouldn't think twice about, such as fragranced bedding, scented toiletries, air fresheners or a hotel room that's recently been cleaned with strong products, can potentially trigger significant symptoms for me. I've had to develop quite an extensive routine for travelling over the years, and our wedding trip was certainly no exception!

I contacted the hotel in advance to discuss my requirements, including cleaning arrangements, products used in the room, bedding and how we could minimise unnecessary fragrance exposure. It's something I've learnt is SO much easier to organise beforehand rather than arriving somewhere and discovering the environment isn't suitable.

Of course, no hotel can necessarily guarantee that every possible trigger will be avoided, especially when there are lots of other guests and staff using the same spaces. For me, the important thing was communicating my most significant sensitivities clearly, discussing what adaptations were possible and making sure I had my own supplies where necessary.

I also brought various personal products from home because I can't always rely on the ones provided by accommodation. Depending on the situation, that can include my own bedding, toiletries, cleaning products and other items I know I can tolerate.

I'd definitely recommend having these conversations well in advance if you're planning a wedding or special occasion with severe allergies or chemical sensitivities. It's also worth finding out exactly who will be responsible for communicating your requirements to the housekeeping and catering teams, rather than assuming the information will automatically reach everybody involved.

For me, managing the environment was one of the biggest things that helped make the trip possible.

ORGANISING FOOD AND ALLERGY REQUIREMENTS

Food was another enormous consideration, particularly because alongside MCAS, I also have several gastrointestinal conditions and can react to foods that other people tolerate without any issues.

Planning a wedding meal for around 100 guests is a big enough task in itself, let alone trying to make sure the bride can actually eat something safely!

We needed to communicate my individual dietary requirements and make arrangements around the foods I could tolerate. For me, it wasn't simply about having a vegetarian or gluten-free alternative on the menu, but ensuring that the people preparing and serving my food understood my particular needs and the precautions involved.

Something I'd particularly recommend is thinking beyond the main wedding meal. There's a whole day of getting ready, photographs, the ceremony and celebrations, so it's worth considering what you'll eat beforehand, whether suitable food will be available when you need it and what happens if the schedule runs later than expected.

With chronic illness, missing meals can affect symptoms, medication routines and energy levels, so having reliable food available can make the whole experience much easier to manage. I also think it's useful to have a backup plan for situations where the food provided isn't suitable, particularly when you're travelling somewhere unfamiliar.

The aim was to make sure I could actually enjoy our wedding without spending the entire day worrying about what I was going to eat or whether something might trigger a reaction.

FRAGRANCES, HUGS AND SETTING BOUNDARIES

One of the more unusual things we had to consider was how to manage fragrances and physical contact throughout the celebrations.

Weddings naturally involve lots of people wanting to hug, kiss and congratulate you, and everybody tends to dress up and wear their favourite perfume or aftershave. Unfortunately, these are all things that can create problems for me!

Fragrance exposure is one of my biggest MCAS triggers, so somebody wearing perfume, aftershave or strongly scented products around me can potentially cause a reaction. With hEDS and my joint instability, hugs can also be uncomfortable or even cause subluxations depending on how somebody embraces me.

We therefore needed to think carefully about communicating these boundaries to our guests. It can feel quite awkward asking people not to wear fragrance around you, especially for an occasion when everybody naturally wants to dress up and smell lovely, but I've learnt that explaining the medical reason behind the request can make it much easier for people to understand.

I also love suggesting alternative ways to greet me, such as air hugs, waving or simply saying hello without physical contact. It's a tiny adjustment that allows people to show affection without putting my health at risk.

Of course, with around 100 guests, I couldn't control every product that everybody used, but communicating what mattered most helped us reduce potential exposure as much as possible.

This is something I think applies to all sorts of special occasions with chronic illness. Setting boundaries isn't about being unfriendly or difficult, it's about making it possible for us to participate without unnecessarily compromising our health.

Check out this video that I sent to all of our wedding guests a couple of weeks before the wedding, to help them understand these boundaries clearly and in a more personable way than just sending a quick message, so that people could truly comprehend WHY I was setting these boundaries and wasn't being fussy or difficult.

PREPARING FOR THE WEDDING DAY

When planning the wedding itself, I tried to consider the entire day rather than just the ceremony. Getting ready, hair and makeup, putting on the dress, travelling between locations, taking photographs, standing for long periods and socialising can all add up to an enormous amount of physical activity.

With MCAS and contact allergies, I needed to be particularly careful about the beauty products being used and whether they were suitable for me, so I just did my own makeup and had my hair accessibly done in our room by my cousin-in-law who's a hairdresser and was also one of our amazing wedding guests. My hEDS and cervical instability also meant considering how long I'd be sitting or standing in certain positions, and making sure I could take breaks when needed.

It's amazing how many little activities are involved in a wedding day that you might not even think about until you start planning everything in detail! Individually, something like sitting for hair and makeup or standing for photographs might not sound particularly demanding, but when you combine them all over an entire day, it can become exhausting.

I think one of the most useful things you can do is look through your schedule and identify where you might need extra time, opportunities to sit down or a quieter space to rest. It's also worth making sure somebody understands your needs and can help with practical things throughout the day, whether that's bringing you food, getting your medical supplies or helping communicate something to the venue staff.

I wanted to do enough preparation beforehand that I could spend the actual day concentrating on getting married and celebrating, rather than constantly worrying about my health.

MEDICAL PACKING AND PLANNING FOR THE UNEXPECTED

Medical packing is something I've spent years refining through travelling with chronic illness, so I already had a fairly extensive system by the time our wedding came around.

Alongside all the usual wedding essentials, I needed to make sure I had enough of my regular medications, relevant emergency treatments, medical supplies and the various supports I rely on when travelling. With several conditions to manage, there are SO many things that need thinking about, particularly when you're going abroad for an extended period.

It's also important to consider what might happen if symptoms flare, travel is delayed or you unexpectedly need medical attention. I'd recommend checking medication requirements for your destination, carrying relevant documentation and making sure you have adequate supplies for the entire trip, with some extra where appropriate.

Wedding specific travel insurance is another big consideration, particularly when you have multiple pre-existing conditions. I always think it's important to check that relevant conditions have been declared and understand what your policy actually covers, rather than assuming everything will be included.

Having my usual supplies and preparations in place meant I could relax much more once we arrived, knowing that I'd considered the things most likely to cause problems. Obviously you can't anticipate every scenario, but having a plan for the most important ones can take away a lot of the uncertainty.

OUR WEDDING DAY!

After all the months of planning, preparation and trying to make everything as accessible as possible, the day finally arrived!

We got married surrounded by around 100 of our favourite people who'd travelled out to celebrate with us. It was honestly SO magical. After being together since we were teenagers, having so many of our friends and family in one beautiful place to celebrate our marriage was incredibly special.

The setting was absolutely gorgeous, and seeing everything we'd spent so long planning finally come together felt completely surreal. I was also incredibly grateful that my health was relatively manageable throughout the celebrations, particularly after everything we'd done to give myself the best possible chance of feeling well.

It was one of those moments that meant so much more because of everything I'd experienced with my health over the previous years. There had been periods when I genuinely didn't know whether travelling, celebrating big milestones or organising something like this would be realistic with my conditions, so being able to experience our wedding abroad was incredibly significant.

That doesn't mean my chronic illnesses had suddenly disappeared, or that everything was completely effortless. There were still limitations, precautions and things I needed to manage throughout the day, but we'd found ways to adapt the experience around my needs rather than assuming it wasn't possible.

I think that's one of the things I love most about sharing these experiences. People might see beautiful wedding photographs and assume that everything behind the scenes was relatively straightforward, when in reality there was an enormous amount of preparation involved in making it happen.

WHAT I'D RECOMMEND IF YOU'RE PLANNING A WEDDING WITH CHRONIC ILLNESS

Having now experienced planning and celebrating our wedding abroad, I think the biggest thing I'd recommend is to start by considering what matters most to you and what your body realistically needs.

It's incredibly easy to get caught up in what weddings are traditionally supposed to look like, how long celebrations should last or what everybody expects you to be able to do. But your wedding should work for YOU, and sometimes that means adapting things that other people might not even think about.

For some people, that might involve choosing a venue with better accessibility, arranging transport between locations or making sure there's somewhere comfortable to rest. For others, it could mean allowing extra days to recover from travelling, organising suitable food, adjusting the schedule or communicating important medical boundaries to guests.

I'd also recommend involving your partner and wedding suppliers in these discussions early on. When the people helping organise your wedding understand your needs and why certain adjustments are important, it can make everything so much easier.

Perhaps most importantly, try not to use up all your energy making the wedding happen and leave nothing for actually enjoying it. Rest, pacing and asking for help are just as important as all the other preparations, especially when you're managing conditions that can flare unpredictably.

LOOKING BACK ON OUR CYPRUS WEDDING

When I look back at our wedding photographs, I see the most beautiful memories of celebrating with the people we love, surrounded by sunshine and the sea. But I also know just how much went into making those photographs possible, from researching venues and communicating medical requirements to organising supplies, adapting plans and setting boundaries.

I think this is something that applies to SO many experiences when you live with chronic illness. People might see somebody travelling, getting married or enjoying a special occasion without necessarily understanding all the planning, adaptations and recovery time involved behind the scenes.

Our Cyprus wedding was everything I'd hoped it would be and more, and I'm incredibly grateful that we found ways to make it work for us. It certainly required some extra organisation, but being able to celebrate such a special milestone surrounded by our favourite people made all that preparation SO worthwhile.

If you're planning your own wedding with chronic illness, whether that's abroad or closer to home, I hope sharing some of our experiences gives you useful ideas for making your day more accessible for your own needs.

Thank you for reading and following along with another chapter of our journey!

Katya x