MANILA, Philippines – Hidilyn Diaz and her fiancé, coach Julius Naranjo, tied the knot in Baguio City on Tuesday, July 26.
The wedding coincided with the anniversary of Hidilyn bagging the first Olympic gold medal for the Philippines. July 26, 2021, the country celebrated Hidilyn's historic win in women's weightlifting.
On Instagram, Hidilyn wrote, "Today marks the first anniversary of our winning the gold medal in the Olympics for the Philippines. And today will also be a memorable day for Julius and I, We will get married today."
The bride wore a beautiful off-shoulder wedding gown by Francis Libiran. The groom wore a “structurally winsome art deco" suit also from Libiran.
Meanwhile, Hidilyn had a "double cascading brocade of orchids" bouquet created by Gideon Hermosa. According to the floral and event designer, the one-of-a-king bouquet was "reminiscent of the weights she is known to lift with all her strength on the Olympic stage."
Nice Print Photography also shared photos of Hidilyn, stating, "Our beautiful bride today. Philippine pride, our first ever gold Olympian medalist, gets married today."
Before the wedding, the couple had a welcoming party for their guests in Baguio City.
The couple got engaged last October 2021 as Coach Julius proposed to Hidilyn with a stunning customized engagement ring with a weightlifting theme.
Coach Julius and Hidilyn met in 2017 at the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. Coach Julius is a Filipino-Japanese weightlifter who represented Guam. At that time, he didn’t know that the Pinay weightlifter was already a silver medalist.
“When I first met Hidilyn, I didn't know, I really didn't know that she was a silver medalist. She was a fellow Filipino that I can meet 'cause I'm from Guam and I'm half-Filipino. I just thought it was great to meet Filipinos from the Philippines at a competition abroad," he said.
The two started dating until Coach Julius became Hidilyn’s coach ahead of the 2016 Olympics. The rest is history.
Julius earlier shared their prenup video to reminisce about their “journey to forever.” According to him, they have been through a lot in the past five years, and their journey wasn’t easy. But despite it all, they were there for each other.
“Whether It’d be chasing in the Olympics, to discovering Malaysia through the pandemic, one thing has been a constant. That is our ability to understand and support each other through thick & thin. When it comes to your Ride or Die, every one of us finds it at one point of our lives. So here we are, and here’s to forever,” he wrote on Instagram.
— Sally, The Summit Express
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| Hidilyn Diaz and her fiancé, coach Julius Naranjo get married on July 26, 2022 | Photo Courtesy: Facebook/ Nice Print |
The wedding coincided with the anniversary of Hidilyn bagging the first Olympic gold medal for the Philippines. July 26, 2021, the country celebrated Hidilyn's historic win in women's weightlifting.
On Instagram, Hidilyn wrote, "Today marks the first anniversary of our winning the gold medal in the Olympics for the Philippines. And today will also be a memorable day for Julius and I, We will get married today."
The bride wore a beautiful off-shoulder wedding gown by Francis Libiran. The groom wore a “structurally winsome art deco" suit also from Libiran.
 |
| Photo Courtesy: Facebook/ Nice Print |
Meanwhile, Hidilyn had a "double cascading brocade of orchids" bouquet created by Gideon Hermosa. According to the floral and event designer, the one-of-a-king bouquet was "reminiscent of the weights she is known to lift with all her strength on the Olympic stage."
Nice Print Photography also shared photos of Hidilyn, stating, "Our beautiful bride today. Philippine pride, our first ever gold Olympian medalist, gets married today."
Before the wedding, the couple had a welcoming party for their guests in Baguio City.
The couple got engaged last October 2021 as Coach Julius proposed to Hidilyn with a stunning customized engagement ring with a weightlifting theme.
Coach Julius and Hidilyn met in 2017 at the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. Coach Julius is a Filipino-Japanese weightlifter who represented Guam. At that time, he didn’t know that the Pinay weightlifter was already a silver medalist.
“When I first met Hidilyn, I didn't know, I really didn't know that she was a silver medalist. She was a fellow Filipino that I can meet 'cause I'm from Guam and I'm half-Filipino. I just thought it was great to meet Filipinos from the Philippines at a competition abroad," he said.
 |
| Photo Courtesy: Facebook/ Nice Print |
The two started dating until Coach Julius became Hidilyn’s coach ahead of the 2016 Olympics. The rest is history.
Julius earlier shared their prenup video to reminisce about their “journey to forever.” According to him, they have been through a lot in the past five years, and their journey wasn’t easy. But despite it all, they were there for each other.
“Whether It’d be chasing in the Olympics, to discovering Malaysia through the pandemic, one thing has been a constant. That is our ability to understand and support each other through thick & thin. When it comes to your Ride or Die, every one of us finds it at one point of our lives. So here we are, and here’s to forever,” he wrote on Instagram.
— Sally, The Summit Express
