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For wetter or worse: Philippine bride defies storm

This article is more than 12 months old

MANILA A bride defiantly marching up a flooded church aisle in the Philippines has won hearts as the country suffers a fresh bout of monsoon rains.

Ms Jobel Delos Angeles, 24, married the father of her two children on Saturday as Tropical Storm Yagi and the southwest monsoon flooded the capital Manila and nearby areas, including their home province of Bulacan.

In a Facebook video shared over a thousand times, Ms Delos Angeles is all smiles as she walks through brown 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," Ms 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 Manila, where floods swept away cars, authorities said.

But for Ms Delos Angeles, the weekend was a 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.

"No car wanted to take us to the church so I just rode a boat. We didn't expect so many people would still turn up, even the entourage," she said. - AFP

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