Photos show a Filipino couple walking down a flooded aisle on their wedding day

MALOLOS, Philippines (AP) — Jade Rick Verdillo and Jamaica Aguilar were determined to walk down the aisle on their wedding day. Even if it meant walking down a flooded one.

On Tuesday, the Barasoain church in Malolos, Bulacan province, Philippines, flooded due to heavy rain. Typhoon Wipha had intensified seasonal monsoon rains in the Philippines, bringing widespread flooding.

The couple anticipated the risk of flooding, but instead of letting the weather dampen the mood, they decided to push through, as all marriages have their challenges.

“We just mustered enough courage,” said Verdillo. “We decided today because it is a sacrifice in itself. But there will more sacrifices if we don’t push through today.”

Aguilar waded down the aisle with her white dress and wedding train floating behind her through waters almost up to her knees. At the altar, Verdillo was waiting to receive her while wearing an embroidered shirt called a Barong Tagalog, worn during special occasions.

The newlyweds have been together for 10 years. The groom said, “I feel that challenges won’t be over. It’s just a test. This is just one of the struggles that we’ve overcome.”

Despite the turbulent weather, some family and friends made it to the wedding.

“You will see love prevailed because even against weather, storm, rains, floods, the wedding continued,” said Jiggo Santos, a wedding guest. “It’s an extraordinary wedding.”

Newlyweds Jade Rick Verdillo, center, and Jamaica pose with a kiss as guests cheer at the flooded Barasoain church in Malolos, Bulacan province, Philippines on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Bride Jamaica Aguilar, left, arranges her gown beside barefoot groom Jade Rick Verdillo, second from right, during their wedding at the flooded Barasoain church in Malolos, Bulacan province, Philippines on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Newlyweds Jade Rick Verdillo right, and Jamaica walk hand in hand during their wedding at the flooded Barasoain church in Malolos, Bulacan province, Philippines on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Guests attend a wedding at the flooded Barasoain church in Malolos, Bulacan province, Philippines on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Groomsmen and guests stand knee deep in floodwaters wearing the traditional barong tagalog at Barasoain church in Malolos, Bulacan province, Philippines on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Guests attend a wedding at the flooded Barasoain church in Malolos, Bulacan province, Philippines on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Bridemaids attend a wedding ceremony at the flooded Barasoain church in Malolos, Bulacan province, Philippines on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Jade Rick Verdillo right, and Jamaica sit for their wedding ceremony at the flooded Barasoain church in Malolos, Bulacan province, Philippines on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Guests leave their shoes on a pew during a wedding at the flooded Barasoain church in Malolos, Bulacan province, Philippines on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Wedding guests walk inside the flooded Barasoain church in Malolos, Bulacan province, Philippines on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

A wedding guest holds a flower during a wedding at the flooded Barasoain church in Malolos, Bulacan province, Philippines on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Bride Jamaica Agular walks down the aisle during her wedding at the flooded Barasoain church in Malolos, Bulacan province, Philippines on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Bride Jamaica Agular prepares to enter the flooded Barasoain church for her wedding in Malolos, Bulacan province, Philippines on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Bride Jamaica Agular prepares to enter the flooded Barasoain church for her wedding in Malolos, Bulacan province, Philippines on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Newlyweds Jade Rick Verdillo right, and Jamaica kiss during their wedding at the flooded Barasoain church in Malolos, Bulacan province, Philippines on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

ST. LOUIS (AP) — World champions Ilia Malinin and the ice dance duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates will anchor one of the strongest U.S. Figure Skating teams in history when they head to Italy for the Milan Cortina Olympics in less than a month.

Malinin, fresh off his fourth straight national title, will be the prohibitive favorite to follow in the footsteps of Nathan Chen by delivering another men's gold medal for the American squad when he steps on the ice at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.

Chock and Bates, who won their record-setting seventh U.S. title Saturday night, also will be among the Olympic favorites, as will world champion Alysa Liu and women's teammate Amber Glenn, fresh off her third consecutive national title.

U.S. Figure Skating announced its full squad of 16 athletes for the Winter Games during a made-for-TV celebration Sunday.

"I'm just so excited for the Olympic spirit, the Olympic environment," Malinin said. “Hopefully go for that Olympic gold.”

Malinin will be joined on the men's side by Andrew Torgashev, the all-or-nothing 24-year-old from Coral Springs, Florida, and Maxim Naumov, the 24-year-old from Simsbury, Connecticut, who fulfilled the hopes of his late parents by making the Olympic team.

Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were returning from a talent camp in Kansas when their American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter and crashed into the icy Potomac River in January 2025. One of the last conversations they had with their son was about what it would take for him to follow in their footsteps by becoming an Olympian.

“We absolutely did it,” Naumov said. “Every day, year after year, we talked about the Olympics. It means so much in our family. It's what I've been thinking about since I was 5 years old, before I even know what to think. I can't put this into words.”

Chock and Bates helped the Americans win team gold at the Beijing Games four years ago, but they finished fourth — one spot out of the medals — in the ice dance competition. They have hardly finished anywhere but first in the years since, winning three consecutive world championships and the gold medal at three straight Grand Prix Finals.

U.S. silver medalists Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik also made the dance team, as did the Canadian-born Christina Carreira, who became eligible for the Olympics in November when her American citizenship came through, and Anthony Ponomarenko.

Liu was picked for her second Olympic team after briefly retiring following the Beijing Games. She had been burned out by years of practice and competing, but stepping away seemed to rejuvenate the 20-year-old from Clovis, California, and she returned to win the first world title by an American since Kimmie Meissner stood atop the podium two decades ago.

Now, the avant-garde Liu will be trying to help the U.S. win its first women's medal since Sasha Cohen in Turin in 2006, and perhaps the first gold medal since Sarah Hughes triumphed four years earlier at the Salt Lake City Games.

Her biggest competition, besides a powerful Japanese contingent, could come from her own teammates: Glenn, a first-time Olympian, has been nearly unbeatable the past two years, while 18-year-old Isabeau Levito is a former world silver medalist.

"This was my goal and my dream and it just feels so special that it came true,” said Levito, whose mother is originally from Milan.

The two pairs spots went to Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea, the U.S. silver medalists, and the team of Emily Chan and Spencer Howe.

The top American pairs team, two-time reigning U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, were hoping that the Finnish-born Efimova would get her citizenship approved in time to compete in Italy. But despite efforts by the Skating Club of Boston, where they train, and the help of their U.S. senators, she did not receive her passport by the selection deadline.

“The importance and magnitude of selecting an Olympic team is one of the most important milestones in an athlete's life,” U.S. Figure Skating CEO Matt Farrell said, "and it has such an impact, and while there are sometimes rules, there is also a human element to this that we really have to take into account as we make decisions and what's best going forward from a selection process.

“Sometimes these aren't easy," Farrell said, “and this is not the fun part.”

The fun is just beginning, though, for the 16 athletes picked for the powerful American team.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Amber Glenn competes during the women's free skating competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Alysa Liu skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Maxim Naumov skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate during the "Making the Team" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Gold medalist Ilia Malinin arrives for the metal ceremony after the men's free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)