RismadarVoice Reporters
September 1, 2026
A Philippine couple has gone ahead with their wedding ceremony inside a church submerged in floodwater, despite heavy rains that have affected parts of the country for weeks.
Leian Lieza Galang and Gilbert Chico were married on Tuesday at Saint John the Baptist Church in Hagonoy, Bulacan province, north of Manila, where floodwater had risen to around hip level.
The bride, dressed in a white off-shoulder wedding gown and carrying a bouquet, carefully waded through the murky water to meet her groom for the ceremony.
“We were in complete uniform. We did not mind that our gown and coat got soaked,” Chico told AFP.
The parish priest conducted an abbreviated late-morning ceremony before declaring the couple husband and wife.
Wedding photographer Mikko Rey Alfonso said the church had been partially flooded for nearly a month and that parish officials had advised the couple to postpone the ceremony because of the rising water.
However, the couple chose to proceed with the 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,” Alfonso said.
Photos and video from the ceremony showed the couple and a small group of guests navigating the flooded church, with water covering the floor and reaching the waist of a young boy who carried the wedding rings down the aisle.
The couple reportedly arrived at the church in a modified rickshaw with an elevated chassis to keep their wedding clothes dry before entering the flooded compound.
Alfonso said the bride’s wedding gown was altered by shortening the train to make it easier and safer for her to move through the water.
Fewer than 15 people attended the ceremony, according to the photographer.
Chico, who works as a rigger in the Middle East, said the wedding had initially been scheduled for December. However, an ankle injury sustained while playing basketball forced him to return home earlier than planned, giving the couple an opportunity to bring the ceremony forward.
The wedding took place amid unusually heavy monsoon rains that have battered northern parts of the predominantly Catholic Philippines.
The resulting landslides and flash floods have reportedly killed 34 people, according to the latest official figures.
Despite the difficult conditions, Alfonso said the couple remained determined to complete their union.
“They love each other. Nothing could stop their union,” he said.
