Preparations

Preparing for a wedding when you suffer from several chronic illnesses can be complicated.
Really complicated.

I am going to skip over all of the normal wedding planning stressors - like the unceasing amount of tiny details that you can't just ignore, uprooting family drama you had no idea even existed, managing guest lists, finances, and expectations, and compromising at every turn.
If you've been through it, you will know exactly how monumental these issues seem at the time of planning. The greatest thing is when you can make these decisions together and actually have fun with it.

But what about details that surround illness? What makes it so different?
Here are a few things that I think about to accommodate the uninvited guest that is Chronic Illness:

1. If planning an outdoor wedding, there better be several porta-potty options available.
2. I am debating whether or not to have a full aisle runner going all the way to the women's washroom and a VERY CLEAR path so that if I have to run, it is easy.
3. I might need a sign on a stall door that says "RESERVED FOR IBD BRIDE".
4. Because of my HAE, maybe I should get the back of my dress altered to a corset back vs a zipper so that there is room to expand if my HAE is being particularly problematic.
5. Again, because of my HAE, my arms tend to swell. So one of my lovely amazing friends has offered to crochet me a stunning crocheted shawl made out of silky wool that has a little shine to it.
Unfortunate that I feel like I need it in case I am extra self-conscious about my arms (I would hate to see our wedding photos and hate them because of massively swollen arms).
6. My dress is not fitted. I have always gone back and forth between wanting a fitted trumpet silhouette or a poofy princess dress. With a little poof, if I have to wear Depends underneath my dress, you won't be able to tell.
Poofy it is.
7. We have had to research the nearest hospitals and if they can provide the services I might require - specifically for the throat and chest swelling that impedes my breathing, from the excitement triggering a severe HAE swell. (The best hospital with almost everything I'd need is about 40 minutes away). 
8. The day before we leave for the venue, I will have to get a full IV treatment of a medication. Then a sub-cutaneous injection the following day. Then, likely, another sub-q and/or IV treatment afterwards. I have to bring that medication with me - which has to stay refrigerated - so we have to bring special coolers... and also need to organize a place to keep that medication refrigerated.
9. I have to schedule time for a nap. (Seriously - it is in the itinerary).
10. I have to field questions and judgements about wanting a traditional wedding when I am so ill and incapable of working full time (as though being unable to work automatically deems me undeserving of a wedding day).
11. I have to carefully plan the amount and types of medication I take the morning of the wedding. I want to be in the least amount of pain possible WITHOUT being loopy.
12. In addition to that past point, I will have to research whether there is a specific form that I may have to sign in case I need extra medication - often medications that cause drowsiness can be considered an impairment, and therefore make any officially signed documents void. It would be a nightmare finding out the marriage is invalid if I spend the night before in the ER or something... Something to look into.
13. Another reason we are having the wedding in our province and traveling by vehicle - there should be no issue transporting most of my medications.
14. Food - we want the best possible food for our guests! It is probable, however, that I may not actually be able to eat any of the food that we are having catered. I will have to make sure that there is Boost available in the venue's kitchen fridge.
15. I have some pretty canes that will not take away from the beauty of the day, but I am grateful to be escorted down the aisle. I am more than a little excited to have my dad 'give me away', and he will also help me walk so that I do not have to use my cane down the aisle. (It wouldn't be the end of the world... and we still have a few months to go and things could change, but at least my canes are pretty).
16. If things were to get worse, we have a plan to doll up my walker for such an occasion, should I need it.
17. We had to find one or two specific spots for pictures - I will not be strong enough to walk or hike or drive or travel to various places. I would pass out.

The amazing thing is that nothing is worrying me about the marriage itself. He is exactly the man I had always dreamed of. We have made a life together that has been full of complication but full of love and happiness. Our wedding day will be perfect - even with all of the things that go wrong and the medical snags.
The bottom line is that I have found 'my person', and so has he. We have found each other and we are both excited to get married.
Chronic illness complications are simply part of the package, and we will get through that like we will get through everything else: with patience, holding hands, supporting each other, some morbid humour, and a few breakdowns mixed in.

Saying I Do with IBD, or HAE, or AS, or any other chronic condition just adds a few extra complications. But it will be just as special.