Leian Lieza Galang and Gilbert Chico went ahead with their wedding despite severe flooding in Hagonoy, north of Manila.
HAGONOY, PHILIPPINES — WEB DESK: A Philippine couple went ahead with their wedding inside a Catholic church despite hip-deep floodwaters, turning their ceremony into an extraordinary display of determination amid weeks of heavy monsoon rains.
Leian Lieza Galang and Gilbert Chico were married on September 1 at Saint John the Baptist Church in Hagonoy town, Bulacan, north of Manila.
Galang, carrying a bouquet of white flowers and wearing an off-shoulder white wedding gown, carefully made her way through the murky water inside the flooded church to marry Chico.
The parish priest conducted an abbreviated late-morning ceremony and declared the couple, both in their 30s, husband and wife, according to wedding photographer Mikko Rey Alfonso.
Couple refused to postpone wedding
The parish had advised the couple to postpone the ceremony because floodwaters from upstream areas were continuing to rise.
However, the couple decided to proceed with their planned wedding.
Alfonso said parish workers did their best to make the occasion special despite the difficult conditions.
The church had reportedly been partially underwater for nearly a month as heavy rains affected the area.
“They love each other. Nothing could stop their union,” Alfonso said.
Floodwater filled the church
Images and video from the ceremony showed the bride and groom navigating floodwater inside the church.
In one photograph, a boy carrying the wedding rings can be seen walking down the aisle through water reaching his waist.
The couple arrived together in a rickshaw with an elevated chassis, which helped keep their wedding clothes dry before they reached the church courtyard.
The bride’s wedding gown was also altered, with its train shortened so she could move more safely through the water.
Fewer than 15 people attended the ceremony.
Wedding came amid severe flooding
The unusual ceremony took place as heavier-than-usual seasonal monsoon rains battered northern parts of the Philippines during August.
The rains triggered landslides and flash floods, with 34 people reported killed according to the latest official tally cited by AFP.
The Philippines, one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries, regularly experiences severe flooding during the monsoon season.
Wedding was originally planned for December
Chico, who works as a rigger in the Middle East, said the couple had originally planned to marry in December.
An ankle injury sustained while playing recreational basketball caused him to return home earlier than expected.
The couple then decided to use his time at home to hold the wedding before he returned to work.
Despite the flooded church and challenging conditions, the ceremony went ahead, with the couple exchanging vows surrounded by a small group of family and parish workers.
