A musically charged fête at MO2 Hotel Ballroom

1 of 12

By Zedrick Señeres

The MO2 Hotel Ballroom glowed in a lacquered palette of red and gold, its mirrored pillars catching soft amber wash lights while chandelier crystals threw prismatic sparks across linen-draped tables and a gleaming three-tier cake ribboned in crimson and metallic gilt.

Guests arrived in polished evening looks—sleek blacks, jewel tones and a shimmer of metallics—mirroring the ballroom’s luxe palette and setting an elegant cadence before the dancing began.

At the center of it all was the gracious celebrant, Joey GuBrian-Moss, marking her sixty-ninth year with what felt less like a party and more like a beautifully curated reunion of the people who have animated her life.

Her ever-supportive husband, David Wayne Moss, moved with hostly ease, greeting friends and family and keeping the night’s rhythm buoyant from first toast to final song.

Notables who added sparkle to the room included Glenda Valencia, Rose and Steve Sadler, John and Terre Harris, Mr. and Mrs. Uy, Beth and Mel Jardeleza, Patty Monfort-Huang, Glenda Abanilla, Desiree Terre, Edith Pe-Tan, Grace Jardeleza de Asia and Mario de Asis, Ray Solas, Ral Quimsing, Rey Sixfour Dimaisip, Anna Manuel, Joy Quimsing and her daughter, Ginger Gu’Brian, Mira Fagoroso, Melody Clemente, Sam Milan, Nick and Mary De Garis with their daughter, Jean Jaranilla, Ann Villaruz, Louie Oliva, Chase Sanz, Jerome Madrona, Ian Benedicto, Paul Villegas, Salie Artajo and Sean Faderan, with a sweet cameo of youth from grandson Pepper Gu’Brian and his girlfriend, Felicity Flores.

Dinner was a generous procession from a menu personally chosen by the celebrant—comforting classics given a refined touch—paired with crisp pours and well-made bar staples that kept conversations bright and the dance floor confident.

After dinner, the internationally known Night Rhythm Band set a high-polish groove, moving with ease from contemporary numbers to nostalgia-tilted favorites that opened the floor to impromptu “open mic” turns and those irresistible, everyone-knows-the-words sing-alongs.

Between sets, Joey’s welcome remarks drew quiet focus, grounding the glamour with gratitude and purpose: “The year i turned sixty-nine, I decided to do something different. Not a big fancy party, not a trip to some fun country, but a celebration of the people who’ve made my life a beautiful journey. I wanted to gather the fragments of my happy past and weave them into my present. My sixty-ninth birthday wasn’t just a celebration of another year, but life itself. Of friendships that grew deeper with me and of the joy the new connections bring.

It’s a day of giving thanks and glory to GOD who have never abandoned me and never will.
Big thanks to my husband David & to my family.”

That spirit—festive yet reflective—was the evening’s quiet cause, a celebration of friendship as legacy and of faith as compass.

Fashion moments surfaced throughout: sleek column dresses catching the light in motion, sharp dinner jackets softened by pocket squares, and the celebrant’s own poised silhouette—a study in understated glamour—photographed against the ballroom’s red-and-gold mise-en-scène.

As plates gave way to cake service, the striking red-and-gold confection—specially made by the family—became both centerpiece and punctuation, a sweet emblem of the night’s theme of continuity and care.

What made the celebration sing was the balance it struck: refined tableaus and thoughtful hosting on one hand, and on the other, a dance floor animated by old friends, easy laughter and the kind of music that turns memory into momentum.