A determined couple in the Philippines refused to let torrential rains ruin their big day, choosing to go through with their wedding even as floodwaters filled their ceremony venue.
On Tuesday, July 22, 2025, Jade Rick Verdillo and Jamaica Aguilar were married inside Barasoain Church, located in Malolos, Bulacan, despite Tropical Storm Wipha bringing heavy rain and widespread flooding, as reported by the Associated Press.
Photos captured the bride walking through murky water inside the church, her lace gown and veil soaked, as she approached the groom, who stood waiting in his traditional Barong Tagalog with water nearly reaching his knees.
The newlyweds shared a kiss amid the floodwaters inside the historic church, creating a moment that quickly captured public attention.
Wedding guests, including young children and flower girls in formal clothes, were also seen carefully making their way through the waterlogged church, with many removing their footwear and leaving them on pews, according to the AP.
“We just mustered enough courage,” Verdillo — who has been dating his partner for 10 years — told the outlet of going ahead with the nuptials.
He added, “We decided today because it is a sacrifice in itself. But there will more sacrifices if we don’t push through today.”
Aguilar continued, saying, “I feel that challenges won’t be over. It’s just a test. This is just one of the struggles that we’ve overcome."
The couple posed for photos and embraced during the ceremony while standing in ankle-deep water, surrounded by smiling and supportive guests.
Wedding attendee Jiggo Santos reflected on the day’s significance: “You will see love prevailed because even against weather, storm, rains, floods, the wedding continued … It’s an extraordinary wedding."
Wipha was previously classified as a typhoon while still over open water, but weakened into a tropical storm by the time it reached northern Vietnam on Tuesday, according to the AP. The storm caused significant disruption in the Philippines, where more than 80,000 people were forced into shelters following severe flooding, landslides, and tidal surges over the weekend.
The country continued to face intense rainfall linked to the seasonal monsoon as the storm moved through the region, Reuters reported.
This wasn’t the first time Barasoain Church hosted a wedding in the middle of a flood. PEOPLE had earlier reported on the 2023 nuptials of Dianne Victoriano and Paulo Padilla, which also took place in the same church during similar weather disasters.
A video posted online by the bride’s cousin, Maria Jasmin Halili, showed Jamaica wading through shallow floodwaters in her wedding dress as she walked toward the altar inside the historic church.
SOURCE: People