A bride in a white wedding gown waded through murky floodwater inside a Philippine church to reach the altar and marry the man she loved, refusing to let severe flooding stop the couple from exchanging their vows.
Video of Liean Liza Galang making her way through waist-deep water at St. John the Baptist Parish Church in Hagonoy, Bulacan, has drawn widespread attention, Viral Press reported via The Associated Press. The couple, Gilbert Chico and Liean Liza Galang, proceeded with their wedding ceremony and tied the knot on Sept. 1 despite floodwater filling the church.
“We had been looking forward to this day for so long, and we did not want the rain and flooding to stop us from getting married,” the newlyweds said in a statement, according to The Associated Press.
“It may not have been the wedding we imagined, but it is certainly a day we will never forget,” the couple added.
Last month, heavy monsoon rainfall impacted parts of Luzon, the largest island in the Philippines.
Wedding photographer Mikko Rey Alfonso told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the church had been partially underwater for nearly a month and the couple was advised to reschedule because of the flooding.
“The parish had advised them to postpone the wedding due to the rising floodwaters from upstream. It was their decision to proceed,” Alfonso told AFP. “Since they wanted to see it through, we, the servants of the parish, did the best we could to make this a special day for them.”
Footage of the ceremony captured by Sherwin Macasaya from the choir loft showed the bride, dressed in white and carrying a bouquet, carefully making her way through the water toward the altar. The couple’s family, friends and photographers for the wedding can be seen standing in the flooded church during the wedding.
As the bride made her way through the water in her wedding dress to reach the altar, a Filipino love song played in the background, reports the AP.
According to Alfonso, fewer than 15 people attended the couple’s wedding ceremony. The bride also had to “have her wedding gown altered to shorten the train,” Alfonso said, which enabled her to safely navigate the floodwater.
“We were in complete uniform. We did not mind that our gown and coat got soaked,” the groom told AFP.
Chico said that he and his bride arrived together aboard a rickshaw with an elevated chassis, which is the supporting frame of a structure. He added that they kept their clothes clean and fresh before getting off at the church courtyard.
The groom works as a rigger in the Middle East, but an ankle injury forced him to come home earlier than expected, reports AFP. Chico said the wedding was originally scheduled for December, but the couple decided to use the time they had now to have the ceremony before Chico had to return to work.
Earlier this month, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported that the combined effects of the southwest monsoon (habagat) and recent tropical cyclones have left 43 people dead and caused over PHP11.7 billion (over $185 million) in agriculture and infrastructure damage across Luzon and other affected regions.
The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) estimates that the weather impacted 10.2 million residents in nine regions, equivalent to some 2.9 million families in 6,900 villages.
Data from Sept. 7 showed that 16,900 families or 58,400 persons were still being assisted in evacuation centers, with the OCD reporting that assistance provided to affected communities had totaled PHP 2.29 billion.
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
