Filipino couple married in hip-deep floodwaters

MANILA, Philippines — A couple tied the knot on Tuesday at a Catholic church swamped in hip-deep waters, as heavy rains have pummelled large parts of the country for a month.

Clutching a bouquet of white blooms and clad in an off-shoulder white gown, Leian Lieza Galang gingerly waded into the murky brown floodwaters inside the Saint John the Baptist church in Hagonoy town, north of Manila, to wed Gilbert Chico.

“We were in complete uniform. We did not mind that our gown and coat got soaked,” the groom told AFP.

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The parish priest declared the couple, both in their 30s, husband and wife at an abbreviated late-morning ceremony, said wedding photographer Mikko Rey Alfonso.

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“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, adding the church had been partially underwater for nearly a month.

“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.”

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Heavier-than-usual seasonal monsoon rains pounded the northern third of the mainly Catholic archipelago in August, with resulting landslides and flash floods killing 34 people, according to the latest official tally.

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

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A video clip of the wedding posted on the parish’s Facebook page showed the bride being hugged by her parents in front of empty pews adorned with plastic flower bouquets.

One photo showed a boy holding the wedding rings walking down the aisle — with floodwater up to his waist.

The bride and groom arrived together aboard a rickshaw with an elevated chassis, keeping their clothes pristine before they got off at the church courtyard, Chico said.

To allow the bride to safely navigate the floodwaters, she had to “have her wedding gown altered to shorten the train”, Alfonso said.

Fewer than 15 people were in attendance, he added.

Chico, who works as a rigger in the Middle East, said the wedding was originally planned for December.

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An ankle injury during a recreational game of basketball, however, forced him to come home for vacation earlier than planned. He used the downtime to hold the wedding before returning to work.