Wedding Day & Ceremony, Long Remembered

Groom-Deng Li 28, and Bride- Huang Fang 25, clad in white wedding attire on Monday, May 12, 2008. <br />
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Days earlier, the couple had asked !%%'s advice on a suitable outdoor setting for their wedding photographs. @@!!, owner of a photography studio in Chengdu, recommended Bailu Academy, a deserted catholic seminary hidden halfway up a mountain slope in Bailu township, Pengzhou county. The timelessly peaceful scenic spot is both a tourist attraction and a popular backdrop for wedding photos. <br />
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They arrived Monday, May 12, 2008 at noon. &quot;The weather was weird. It was sunny in the morning, but turned overcast and cold,&quot; !%@@ recalled. &quot;I saw bees hovering on the way, something I had never noticed on previous visits.&quot; <br />
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$$% says there were 33 people at the seminary that day, including five other couples and photographers from two studios. <br />
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As his team began their preparations to shoot after a quick[Quake] lunch, %#%! suddenly heard a loud cracking sound overhead. Looking up, he saw to his horror the roof &amp; beams in the main seminary building splinter and fell. As he fled to the courtyard outside he saw panic-stricken people running out of the chapel, the opposite building to the church which was vibrating and swayed violently. <br />
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He realized that he was in the midst of an earthquake. When he looked at his watch, it was exactly 2:28 pm. He found that its surrounding was suddenly plunged into a smoky, dusty and sudden darkness. It was only after about 10-second the tremor stopped that the air cleared and he could see and breath freely again. <br />
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Every one was gray-haired and coated with a layer of thick dust over their face. &quot;The brides and grooms [6 pairs]in their smudged makeup and muddy, dust smeared wedding costumes looked like ghost or dust