A couple celebrated their wedding in Cavite, the Philippines, despite the Taal volcano erupting around 20km away from the venue.
Chino Vaflor and Kat Palomar celebrated their wedding on Sunday as tens of thousands were fleeing the area due to the Taal volcano's eruption.
Randolf Evan, one of the photographers at the event, said that the bride and groom seemed “collected and calm" during the day, and that “we still were lucky despite what happened."
Evan remarked:
“We only started noticing unusual activity with the volcano around 2pm when we were already there. It was spewing white smoke vigorously. That was during preparation just an hour or two before the ceremony."
More than 40,000 evacuees in Batangas and Cavite were sheltered in nearly 200 evacuation centers after the eruption.
Evan added:
“It (the photography) did get affected quite a bit as our timeline became a bit rushed, however the mood throughout the event was still mostly calm."
“We were still able to actually cover everything as we would a typical wedding from preparation, ceremony to reception, and even shoot pictorials."
The alert level since the eruption began on Sunday has been at 4, indicating that a hazardous eruption is possible in hours to days.
Clouds of volcanic ash blowing over Manila closed the country's main airport on Sunday and part of Monday until the ash fall eased.
More than 500 flights were cancelled or delayed due to Manila International Airport's closure.
Jay-Ar Fortaleza, who was working with Randolf Evan Photography, said:
“The wedding must go on despite the Taal's impending eruption."
“We were all nervous but we knew we must keep on doing our job and finish our work as was our commitment to the couple."
Evan added:
“According to the bride, despite minor bumps on the road home, everyone else from the wedding was fine!"
