Modern Fun wedding photography in San Diego California by Ohana Photographers

the hard rock hotel in san diego has hosted numerous musicians. super stars, boy bands, divas, and even garage dwelling rockers have all passed through its doors. recently, another name was added to their vip list.

performing for one night only, in the legends ballroom, was wilbur. family and friends filled the room to capacity, but this was a concert for one. unbeknownst to catherine, she was about to score the front row seat. as wilbur brought his acoustic guitar out from it’s hiding place the crowd quickly went silent. we all smiled from the shadows as wilbur serenaded his beautiful wife in the spotlight.

my head is stuck in the clouds

she begs me to come down

says “boy quit foolin’ around”

i told her “i love the view from up here

the warm sun and wind in my ear

we’ll watch the world from above

as it turns to the rhythm of love”

the plain white t’s helped make the moment perfect.

music has always been a huge part of catherine and wilbur’s relationship. they first met in pasacat, a filipino folk arts dance group. throughout their time as boyfriend/girlfriend and fiance, wilbur would regularly sing to catherine and she would record him, something wilbur would use in his surprise proposal to catherine.

it was her birthday, and as they often did, they went to mccormick and schmicks for a special dinner. after dinner they went back home and wilbur busted out his guitar and handed an old backup video camera to catherine. normally, wilbur would only sing one song, but tonight he surprised catherine and sang a second. as the second song ended she applauded and began to leave so she could change into something a little more comfortable. before she could leave the room wilbur stopped her and said he had one more song. catherine sat back down and once again started recording. this song caught her attention immediately. it wasn’t a cover. wilbur wrote it himself with lyrics that told the story of their life together. when he reached the bridge wilbur knelt down on one knee and sang, “will you marry me?” he then stopped playing. holding his guitar in one hand and stumbling a bit, he pulled a ring out of his pocket and presented it to her. catherine sat in shock, still watching him through the tiny screen on the back of the video camera. her reply came after a pause… “oh sh*# are you serious!?”

of course she said yes. he put the ring on her finger. they hugged, cried, and shared the good news with everyone they knew.

with an engagement story like that, you know we had to include music for their engagement session in san diego. it didn’t stop there. they chose to have their wedding at the hard rock hotel in san diego. that brings us to this post.

kaye and bur, we are so glad you found us and chose to let us share this awesome time in your life. you made us laugh, cry, and learn the meaning of mabuhay (since kim’s mom only taught her the bad words in tagalog). a HUGE thank you also for making this a balut free wedding. it’s kim’s kryptonite.

congratulations you two! we love you like cousins. cool cousins, not the lame ones no one ever wants to hang out with.

choo got to be kidding me mang. how are these for hard rock heels?

it’s all about the choos.

i’ve just seen a face

catherine was lookin like powdered sugar… super fine.

we love catherine’s smile! did she look incredible or what!?

see these guys right here? watch out for them. they’re trouble.

the little blue box from tiffany and co. that kaye’s ring came in was nice, but wilbur’s guitar was better for these ring shots. it’s a beaut clark!

the groom suite was full service. looking good bur.

bur was as sober as the pope when he walked down the aisle, although the diet pepsi wasn’t scoring him any man points.

bur, kim said your groomsmen were the funniest, most colorful bunch of dudes we’ve worked with all year. and that’s saying something.

on a side note, all the guys earned bonus points for wearing sanuk sidewalk surfers.

a little back story on this choice spot for kaye and bur’s first look. the room you see behind bur was originally reserved for kaye, but somehow was mistakenly given to a group of bros from mexico who were in town for an intervention. luckily, said bros were cool enough to let us borrow their balcony for kaye and bur’s first look.

awesomeness follows.

although it was too late for bur, these bros were all doing what they could for their friend.

bro code #40 – should a bro become stricken with engagement, his bros shall stage an intervention and attempt to heal him. this is more commonly known as “a bachelor party.”

thanks for letting us borrow your balcony bros.

getting back to bur and kaye’s hotness… who set off the fire alarm?

once we stepped onto the lower rooftop ceremony site we kind of felt like we were on exhibit at the san diego zoo.

and the cutest entrance award goes to…

bur had just seen kaye for the first time about a half hour before the ceremony, but when he saw her coming down the aisle he couldn’t hold back his happiness…

neither could kaye…

or her mom.

two is better than one

i now present to you for the first time, mr. and mrs.

kaye and bur had three qualifications to make it into their bridal party. one – be hot. two – be fun. three – be a lot of both.

and in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make. true that beatles.

kaye and bur had members from the pasacat dance group (where they met) come to the reception and perform for everyone. as an added bonus, kaye and bur kicked off their shoes and showed us all that they still know a thing or two about tinikling.

good to see bur followed bro code #16 – a bro never dances with his hands above his head.

as if kaye’s bouquet wasn’t desirable enough, she attached a little cash to it to make the toss a little more interesting.

not to be outdone, the guys made it rain on the dancefloor.

bur, kaye, and rock n roll.

you guys look so good. i wish we could have found more spotlights to shine on you.

wilbur and kaye told us that on their first date they went to a padres game. i wonder if kaye would have talked on the phone so long if she knew what surprise was inside.

they make their way across the universe

special thanks to everyone that helped make wilbur and catherine’s wedding awesome:

photography: ohana photographers

videography: weddings by 4120

florist: tessilk flowers - tess parea

cake: sumi’s oven – sumithra ramu

venue coordinator: hard rock hotel san diego – rebecca zweig

event coordinator: herna cruz-louie

dj: 3 style attractions – ario magpantay

dancers: pasacat philippine performing arts company

officient: anjo sanchez

it was a pleasure working with you all!

don’t forget to check out this sweet video that 4120 shot of wilbur and catherine’s wedding at the hard rock hotel in san diego.

Catherine & Wilbur // San Diego, CA from FortyOneTwenty on Vimeo.

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