For wetter or worse: Filipino bride defies storm to get married
Taking a ‘come hell or high water’ approach, she waded in the muddy flood
Abeaming bride defiantly marching up a flooded church aisle in the Philippines has won hearts as the country suffers a fresh bout of monsoonal rains.
Jobel Delos Angeles, 24, married the father of her two children on Saturday as Tropical Storm Yagi and the southwest monsoon brought heavy flooding to the capital Manila and nearby areas, including their home province of Bulacan.
In a Facebook video shared over a thousand times, Delos Angeles is all smiles as she walks through brown, muddy floodwaters in a white gown and veil before her suited groom clad in flip-flops takes her to the altar.
“Even if it floods or it rains, nothing can stop me. You only get married once, will you postpone it? I was marrying the man I love,” Delos Angeles told AFP by phone.
“My gown got wet and heavy but I told myself it was as if I was walking on a red carpet.”
The Philippines endures an average of 20 typhoons and storms each year. The latest storm brought misery to many, with 20,000 residents fleeing the riverside district of Marikina in the national capital region where floods swept away cars, authorities said. But for Delos Angeles, the weekend was cause for celebration. She said she and her partner of seven years did not expect bad weather but never considered calling off their wedding even after floodwaters entered the church in Hagonoy town. Delos Angeles said she had no regrets.
“It is truly memorable. I am so happy. It shows the lesson that there are no what ifs.”