Not Even Waist-Deep Floodwater Could Stop This Bulacan Couple From Getting Married

(SPOT.ph) Weddings rarely go according to plan, but one couple in Bulacan had to deal with something a little harder to ignore than a late supplier or a missing ninong.

Leian Lieza Galang and Gilbert Chico pushed through with their wedding at St. John the Baptist Parish in Hagonoy, Bulacan, on September 1, 2026—even though the church was flooded almost up to the waist.

Photos shared by the parish showed a church decked out for the wedding, flowers on the pews and everything, except brown floodwater had taken over where the aisle should have been. The wedding has since gone viral on social media, with the unusual scene being picked up by news outlets in the Philippines and abroad, including AFP.

The parish had actually advised the couple to postpone the ceremony because of the flooding, but for Chico and Galang the decision to get married has been a long time coming.

“Matagal na po talaga nameng pangarap na makasal. Ngunit hnd matuloy tuloy dahil sa kadahilanan na ako po ay OFW,” Chico told SPOT.ph.

Working as a rigger in the Middle East, Chico shared that the wedding was originally planned for December. An ankle injury from a basketball game brought him home earlier than expected, so the couple decided to get married while he was in the Philippines before he had to return to work.

There was little reason to think the flood would change those plans, even with the habagat in full swing. After all, the church had already been partially underwater for nearly a month by the time the wedding took place.

“Hnd po namen alam na ganun po ang mangyayari dahil po nung 3 days before wedding date e humupa na po ung baha,” Chico said. By September 1, the flood had risen again, but after years of waiting for the chance to get married, the couple decided to go for it.

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Of course, getting married in a flooded church called for a few adjustments. Galang had her wedding gown shortened so she could move through the water more easily. With the church without electricity, a portable speaker took the place of the usual sound system.

It ended up being a simple, intimate ceremony, with fewer than 15 people in attendance, according to AFP.

The flood may be what everyone remembers from the photos, but for Chico, the most memorable thing was finally having the wedding they had been waiting for, despite everything that could have stopped it.

“Wala po kameng pinagsisisihan sa aming wedding,” Chico told SPOT.ph. “Dahil po ang inisip po nameng mag asawa ay ung walang makakapigil sa aming pagmamahalan. Umulan man oh umaraw oh bumaha. TULOY ANG KASAL.”

For the rest of Hagonoy, the flooding remains an ongoing problem. On the day of the wedding, GMA News reported that eight of the town's 26 barangays remained flooded, with water reaching chest level or even higher in some interior locations. A total of 994 people from 334 families were staying in 19 evacuation centers at the time.

The prolonged flooding has been linked to a combination of heavy rain, high tides, and back-flooding from water flowing down from Pampanga and Nueva Ecija.

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