Love Amid Flood: Philippine Couple Marries In Submerged Church 

A Philippine couple has exchanged wedding vows inside a Catholic church partially submerged by floodwaters, choosing to proceed with their marriage despite heavy rains that have affected parts of the country for a month.

Leian Lieza Galang and Gilbert Chico were married on Tuesday at Saint John the Baptist Church in Hagonoy, a town north of Manila, in a ceremony conducted while murky floodwater covered much of the church.

Wearing an off-shoulder white wedding gown and carrying a bouquet of white flowers, Galang carefully made her way through the water to join Chico for the ceremony.

The groom told AFP that both of them were determined to go ahead with the wedding despite their clothes getting soaked.

“We were in complete uniform. We did not mind that our gown and coat got soaked,” Chico said.

The parish priest pronounced the couple, who are both in their 30s, husband and wife during a shortened late-morning ceremony, according to wedding photographer Mikko Rey Alfonso.

Alfonso said church officials had advised the couple to consider postponing the wedding because of the rising floodwaters coming from upstream.

However, the couple decided to proceed with their plans.

“The parish had advised them to postpone the wedding due to the rising floodwaters from upstream. It was their decision to proceed,” Alfonso said.

He added that the church had been partially submerged for almost a month but parish workers did their best to ensure the couple could have a memorable wedding.

“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,” he said.

The unusual wedding took place against the backdrop of severe monsoon rains that have battered the northern third of the predominantly Catholic Philippines.

The heavy rains in August triggered landslides and flash floods across several areas, killing 34 people, according to the latest official figures.

Despite the difficult circumstances, Alfonso described the couple’s determination as a reflection of their commitment to each other.

“They love each other. Nothing could stop their union,” he said.

Images and video footage shared on the parish’s Facebook page showed the bride being embraced by her parents inside the flooded church, with largely empty pews decorated with plastic flower arrangements.

Another image showed a young boy carrying the wedding rings down the aisle, with the floodwater reaching his waist.

The couple reportedly arrived at the church together in a rickshaw fitted with an elevated chassis, allowing them to keep their wedding clothes relatively dry before stepping into the flooded church grounds.

Alfonso said additional adjustments had to be made to the bride’s wedding dress to make it easier and safer for her to move through the water.

“She had her wedding gown altered to shorten the train,” he said.

Only a small group of fewer than 15 people attended the ceremony, according to the photographer.

For Chico, who works as a rigger in the Middle East, the wedding was not originally scheduled for this period. The couple had planned to get married in December.

However, an ankle injury sustained while playing recreational basketball forced him to return home earlier than expected for a holiday.

With his unexpected time at home, the couple decided to bring their wedding plans forward and tie the knot before he returned to work.