When Marco met Justine

Two years before their actual meeting, businessman and UST graduate Marco Atienza was already interested in meeting Justine Sy Gono, but had yet to figure out how to be introduced to her. Since she was the daughter of his business friend, Carlos Gono, he thought it best to wait and bide his time. It finally took a common friend to set them up, but it was not such an impressive start –– Justine was not smitten right away because Marco seemed nervous on their first date.  

Luckily for Marco, they had a few more dinner dates and Marco were already talking about marriage from the start. He was dead serious about their relationship and made his intentions clear. He just had to convince Enderun graduate Justine that it was time to take the plunge, since she was barely 22 years old at that time.

Phina and Carlos Gono got to know the young, hardworking suitor when he would join them on their family trips abroad and liked what they saw. After a year and a half of courtship, Marco spoke to the Gonos and asked for their daughter’s hand in marriage. They immediately gave their seal of approval, with the engagement culminating in an authentic Chinese tea ceremony that had both sides of the family in attendance. 

At the mid-afternoon wedding ceremony at the Mary the Queen Church in Greenhills, the sponsors composed of relatives and close business friends of their respective families were present. The wedding reception at the Manila Shangri-La’s Isla Ballroom was filled to the brim with well wishers, greeting the new Mr. and Mrs. Marco Atienza as they started their first evening as a married couple with lots of merriment and music.

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