A celebration of heart

Featuring John Kepvin M. Viray and Johna Maze H. Panganiban

Some love stories take time to unfold, while others bloom quietly in the corners of everyday life, like how Johna and Kepvin’s did at a local food park. She was the daughter of a co-owner, simply passing time. He was the quiet guy running a liquor stall, secretly smitten. “It was love at first sight,” Kepvin confessed. Though it took a while before he worked up the courage to ask for her number. But when he did, he called right away. Not texted—called.

Over the next eight years, their relationship weathered distance, time zones, and strict house rules. “Even when we lived apart, me in Manila for school, him in Pampanga for work, he’d travel back and forth just to spend a few hours with me,” Maze shared.

Later, while working abroad as a flight attendant, Maze missed home (and him), so much that she eventually returned. It was the same month Kepvin proposed. “He asked my parents for permission first. That meant everything.”

Their wedding echoed the quiet strength of their love: simple, thoughtful, and filled with meaning. “We wanted it to be clean, intimate, and focused on people,” Maze said.

With minimal flowers and warm draping, the elegant layout—suggested by celebrated event stylist Badang Rueda—brought guests together in a “firing squad” formation that kept everyone connected. “Even with 140 guests, it felt like 20,” she added.

Personal touches were everywhere. From personalized thank-you cards that acknowledged guests who flew in from across the globe, to custom bonbons in wine red, buttery yellow, sage green, and brown. “Time is the most precious gift,” the tags read, “thank you for sharing yours with us.”

Among the night’s most memorable moments were the dances—with her mother-in-law, encouraged by their host Eri Neeman, and a surprise number with her own mom to Celine Dion’s “I’m Alive.” “She lit up. It was my way of saying thank you,” Maze said.

And in true Maze-and-Kepvin fashion, the party ended on a high: a surprise duet of “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You,” bringing everyone to the dance floor in a joyful celebration of love, laughter, and a future built on patience, presence, and purpose.