Bride Wades Through Waist-Deep Water in Wedding Gown as Couple Ties the Knot in Flooded Church Viral Video

A couple tied the knot in a flooded church in the Philippines on Tuesday, Sept. 1. Video footage showing Gilbert Chico and Liean Liza Chico marrying at St. John the Baptist Parish Church in Hagonoy, Bulacan has gone viral, after the bride was seen wading through murky water to get to her husband-to-be.

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A couple tied the knot in a flooded church in the Philippines on Tuesday, Sept. 1

Video footage showing Gilbert Chico and Liean Liza Chico marrying at St. John the Baptist Parish Church in Hagonoy, Bulacan has gone viral, after the bride was seen wading through murky water to get to her husband-to-be

“We had been looking forward to this day for so long, and we did not want the rain and flooding to stop us from getting married,” the couple insisted of their special day

Nothing was stopping a couple in the Philippines from saying their “I dos” this week, as they were seen wading down the aisle in waist-deep flood water.

On Tuesday, Sept. 1, Gilbert Chico and Liean Liza Chico tied the knot at St. John the Baptist Parish Church in Hagonoy, Bulacan.

Liean was seen making her way to the altar through murky water in her white dress in a clip that’s since gone viral, Viral Press reported via the Associated Press.

“We had been looking forward to this day for so long, and we did not want the rain and flooding to stop us from getting married,” the couple insisted, according to the AP.

The newlyweds added, “It may not have been the wedding we imagined, but it is certainly a day we will never forget.”

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The ceremony came amid heavier-than-usual monsoon rainfall in the province, which is located on the island of Luzon. The church insisted they had advised the couple to reschedule their special day. However, they wanted to go ahead with it.

Gilbert told the Agence France-Presse (AFP), “We were in complete uniform. We did not mind that our gown and coat got soaked,” per The Manila Times.

Wedding photographer Mikko Rey Alfonso said that the couple, who are both in their 30s, had “wanted to see it through,” despite being warned about the “rising floodwaters from upstream,” according to the outlets.

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Alfonso said that since the couple wanted to go ahead with the wedding, “We the servants of the parish did the best we could to make this a special day for them,” per the AFP and The Manila Times.

Alfonso said that there were fewer than 15 people in attendance, telling the AFP that the bride had to “have her wedding gown altered to shorten the train.”

Alfonso confirmed to the outlets that the church had been partially underwater for almost a month. “They love each other. Nothing could stop their union,” the photographer insisted.

PEOPLE has reached out to St. John the Baptist Parish Church for comment.

Gilbert and Liean’s wedding comes after Filipino couple, Jade Rick Verdillo and Jamaica Aguilar, tied the knot at the Barasoain church in Malolos, Bulacan province after Storm Wipha — which had previously been considered a typhoon, before being downgraded to a tropical storm — affected the country and surrounding areas in July 2025, bringing widespread flooding, per the AP.

Images at the time showed the bride wading through water at the venue with the bottom of her white lace dress and veil soaked, as the groom waited for her in his traditional embroidered shirt, called a Barong Tagalog, with water nearly up to his knees.

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