My Gastroparesis-Friendly Wedding & Honeymoon
Today marks four years since I married my amazing husband, so I thought I'd take a minute to talk about how I planned a GP-friendly wedding and honeymoon. I met my husband about a year and a half before I was diagnosed with gastroparesis and by the time we got married in 2007, I'd had gastroparesis for nearly four years. I hadn't yet created my comprehensive management plan, though, which meant I was still very symptomatic. That definitely factored into the decisions we made for our wedding and honeymoon. Here's how:
Pre-Wedding Events
We chose to have a 2 year engagement, which alleviated some of the stress involved in planning. This was important since stress really exacerbates my symptoms.
My bridal shower was absolutely perfect thanks to my wonderful mother. It was held at a beautiful old mansion, so there was lots to look at and talk about. Instead of serving a meal, there were light snacks and drinks (set up for grazing in a room separate from where we were sitting/mingling/doing bridal shower things). Instead of cake, we had the most amazing ice cream buffet with frozen yogurt for me and a variety of GP-friendly toppings. Other than that, the event was very non-food-focused, which I really appreciated.
My best friend made sure that bachelorette party was also GP-friendly. Instead of going out for dinner and drinks, we had a spa day -- massages, pedicures, the works -- and went out for ice cream. (I ate a lot of low-fat ice cream back then...before I knew about FODMAPs or the importance of eating nutrient rich foods!). To cap off the day, we cooked dinner at home and watched cheesy wedding movies. It was very low-key, but very relaxing and GP-friendly.
Our rehearsal dinner was planned by my in-laws, but I made sure that there would be a soup that I could eat for dinner. There was cake for dessert, which I just skipped in favor of decaf coffee. In hindsight, I would’ve been more involved in planning a menu that would allow me to participate in both dinner and celebratory dessert.
The Wedding
First, The Dress! When choosing my dress, I took into consideration the bloating and fluctuations in weight that I experience from the gastroparesis and opted for a corset back dress so that I could make it as tight or loose as necessary on the day of the wedding. I also had bra cups sewn in since certain bras, especially strapless, can exacerbate upper abdominal pain.
The ceremony itself was amazing and GP-friendly...no alterations necessary =)
We skipped the champagne toast and just had everyone toast with whatever they were drinking (ginger ale, for me).
I worked closely with the event staff to develop a variety of things that I could enjoy at the reception. They made me a special pasta dish for dinner, and it was served during the soup course so that I could eat slowly and take my time. They also made me a non-fat chocolate milkshake (more ice cream)!
Since I wasn't able to eat our wedding cake, we arranged to have a rice crispy treat (from Starbucks - my favorite!) brought out prior to the cake cutting. I fed my new husband a bite of cake and he fed me a bite of rice crispy treat. We also had urns of hot chocolate set up in the room with the cake and pastries, one of which was made with non-fat milk so that I could have a cup.
In hindsight, I was far more restrictive than I needed to be at this point in my journey with gastroparesis. I didn’t yet understand that it’s okay to sometimes venture outside of a GP-friendly diet. Of course, I wouldn’t have wanted to spend my whole wedding day eating high-fat, high-fiber foods and end up feeling terrible, but I absolutely could’ve had a sip of champagne and one bite of wedding cake.
We ended the reception at 10:30pm, which was perfect since I was completely exhausted (but very happy -- I remember that my face actually hurt from smiling so much!).
The Honeymoon
We originally wanted to go to St. Lucia, but after doing some research we realized that there wouldn't be a great deal of flexibility in terms of the food available. So, we opted for Las Vegas instead!
We chose Vegas for a few reasons. It's relatively inexpensive in December, which meant we could afford to stay at the nicest hotels. Food wasn't an issue since there is such a wide variety of options. Vegas also has a lot to offer other than food. We stayed on "the Strip" for four days to explore the hotels, browse the shops, see shows, and of course do some gambling. We then moved to Lake Las Vegas for three days to relax, enjoy spa treatments, and spend some quiet time together.
We ended up eating several of our meals at the diner-type restaurant in the Bellagio. They had amazing chicken noodle soup for me and a variety of options for him.
We did most of our restaurant exploration at breakfast and for snacks, since those tend to be easiest for me. I had the best pancakes ever at a restaurant at the Venetian, which was also where we found low-fat gelato in a million different flavors. One night we ate at the Asian fusion restaurant, where I was able to get broth-based soup and steamed white rice with a ridiculously tasty ginger dipping sauce. We always checked the menu before deciding on a restaurant so that I didn't end up sitting there watching him eat.
Another great thing about Las Vegas is the amount of walking you do in a day. All of the physical activity was definitely helpful for symptom management.
We also made sure our schedule was flexible. One day I tried a smoothie that didn't agree with me, so we just went back to the hotel room to rest for a while. The only time my symptoms really got in the way was during one of the shows we went to. I was incredibly nauseous, and we were seated right in the center of one of the front rows. All I could think about through the whole thing was how horrible it would be if I threw up! We went back to the hotel afterward, got some ginger ale and Saltines from the gift shop (it's Vegas...they're prepared for these kinds of situations), and I felt fine the next day.
While it was kind of a bummer that we couldn't go out for nice dinners, overall, I think both of us were happy with the choice and we definitely had a great time anyway.
Looking back four years later, I have nothing but wonderful memories. While it wasn't a "normal" wedding day or honeymoon in certain ways because of the GP, it was still perfect. And as with everything else related to gastroparesis, proper planning made all the difference!