Couple marries in flooded church after monsoon in Philippines; bride walks the aisle in waist-deep water

Liean Liza Galang stepped carefully through the brown water filling the aisle of St. John the Baptist Parish Church. She held a bouquet of white flowers in one hand. The water reached her waist as she moved toward the altar where Gilbert Chico waited. Heavy monsoon rains had covered parts of Bulacan for weeks. The church in Hagonoy stood partially underwater for nearly a month. Flooding from upstream rivers kept the pews and floor submerged on the day of the ceremony. Gilbert Chico and Liean Liza Galang had planned the wedding for December. An ankle injury brought Chico home early from his job as a rigger in the Middle East. The couple used the unexpected time together to move the date forward to September 1 instead of postponing further. The parish priest suggested they wait until the water receded. The couple chose to proceed anyway. Fewer than fifteen guests attended. The bride had her gown train shortened so she could walk safely through the floodwater. Chico and Galang arrived together on a rickshaw with a raised frame. They stepped out at the church courtyard with their clothes still dry. Inside, the groom stood at the altar in a brown suit while the bride made her way forward. A love song played as she approached. The priest conducted a shortened ceremony and declared the couple married. The groom later said he and his bride did not mind that their clothes got wet. Wedding photographer Mikko Rey Alfonso noted that parish staff worked to keep the day special once the couple decided to go ahead. Video of the event spread online after it was posted on the parish Facebook page. The couple said they had waited too long for the day to let the rain change their plans.