Kaye and Wilbur – Hard Rock Hotel Wedding in San Diego

abbey road wedding at the hard rock hotel in san diego

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.

bride getting ready at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

bride getting ready at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

bride getting ready at wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

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

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

it’s all about the choos.

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

i’ve just seen a face

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

catherine was lookin like powdered sugar… super fine.

rock n roll bride

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

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

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

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

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!

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

the groom suite was full service. looking good bur.

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

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

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

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.

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

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.

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

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.

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

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

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

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

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

and the cutest entrance award goes to…

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

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…

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

neither could kaye…

bride crying at wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

or her mom.

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

two is better than one

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

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

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

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.

Kurt Cobain wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

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

abbey road wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

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.

traditional Filipino folk art Pasacat dance group

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

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

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

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

make it rain at wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

bur, kaye, and rock n roll.

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

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

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

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.

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

the police wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

they make their way across the universe

wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego

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!

 

 

thank you for visiting our wedding photography blog

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contact us by phone at 858-663-3283 or email    david@ohanaphotographers.com

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Ooh, am I first? :D So I get into the office this morning and do my daily routine of checking things before getting into work mode and see your fb update and head immediately over!! OMG, I am BLOW AWAY!!! Can I vote for them all as my favorite? lol. There are just really no words to express the amount of happiness and how excited and impressed I am with your talents!! You guys are simply amazing. You’re super magic! And I love what you wrote, it totally made the start of my day. :) I’m probably gonna be staring at these all day long, lol! I know that I’m typing a lot right now, cause you know how I ramble in words, but really, I’m speechless. If we saw each other on the street I would have no words and just hug the hell outta you guys and cry.

Can’t say it enough, you guys are THE BEST. WE LOVE YOU GUYS!

Your photos capture unique moments of the whole wedding, using both creative and sentimental perspectives. These two will have an incredible wedding album to treasure. Well done!!!

Man, they are gonna have a tough time figuring out which pictures to get enlarged and mounted on their walls…. I hope they have a big house… and a lot of walls. Amazing.

My face has been rocked. WOW. The shots from the previous post, the hallway and doorway shot destroy me. Wedding Epic Win.

Each photograph stands on it’s own, like art. I’m also very impressed that every ring shot is unique to the couple. That is very thoughtful and shows that you really care for your couples. Bravo =]

Agree, that b&w bridal shot is hot! Always in awe of how you make all your couples look fun, silly & sexy all at the same time. In love with the lighted stair shot and through the red glass. Always shooting out of the box.

I’ve probably spent more time perusing your site than I should… with that said this wedding is a fav. Just gorgeous! But, the photos lured me in – they’re fantastic. ‘All of them.
P.S really loved Kathleen & John’s, Janell & R.J’s & of course the Whitney & Man series. Keep doing what you’re doing.

I just took the time to click through your site. It is awesome…. unique, funny, beautiful photos etc.
Your about page is really funny.

Love this:
our packages range from $2700 to 100 billion :)

i love the rock artist wall and beatles wall photos!!!

You guys ROCKED this one!! (Excuse the pun!) :)

Aww…sigh…it’s perfect! Really, these stills are just so moving. I’ve always admired your art and is a completely different experience when I(we) are the “subject”. In addition to your spectacular eye(s), stunning colors, and intriguing focus and depth, you guys are equally wonderful friends as you are photographers. Thanks again for all the wedding tips/advice…especially the persuasion to buy the San:)ks.

Especial thanks for capturing my bride to stare at all day…without the scorn of “can you stop staring at me, please!” says Kaye. LOL!!!

You guys are seriously the BEST! Ever. The one in the elevator (?) The details, the one on the spotlights…goodness you guys amazing.

my vote: 1. MusicIsMyReligion, 2. White Love Stairs/Stares, 3. BeatlesWalkPaper

BEATLES!! I LOVE THAT ONE!!!

elevator or purple wall are my favorite ones, they’re all pretty cool tho.

Lots of killer shots here. straight up gangsta!

these are pure magic. i always know my eyes are going to get a treat when i visit your blog. love the b&w in the other post and the purple wall. the bride is stunning in all the portraits!!!

You guys are just… as always on fire… love the whole set friends! especially those first look shots… epic. I hope you guys are well!

Hey I made your blog header pictures!!! woo hoo! SUPERSTAAAR! ha ha. Ok, enough about me, holy crap attack you guys! My favorite is the one from the other post, the elevator and can I choose the b&w one of her, she is ridiculously stunning in that pic!
Miss you! I need to get married again dammit!

Holy smack me on the ass and call me Sally. You did work son.

OMG!!! My favorite is the elevator shot, so dreamy and so hollywood! She is SUCH an amazingly beautiful bride! I could look at these all day!

Seriously you’ve cornered the market on beautiful couples! Love all the emotion captured during the ceremony and the bridal portraits are stunning. I agree their album will be off the hook!

Most of the times i visit a blog I see that the construction is poor and the writting bad. On the contrary,I have to say that you have done a good job here.

These shots evoke so much emotion, well done! The first look and the shot of the bride losing it in the aisle, perfection.

Loved this wedding and their engagement session!!! The angles and perspectives intended and managed…emotion all captured. I love the b&w vert of the bride so romantic and surreal.

Most of the times blogs are the same but i think you can add some value. Bravo !

Beautiful couple that look so in love! If I have to pick, I choose the Beatles wall shot and the elevator, I really love the photo in the post below too.

Great wedding, guys! The shots of them as she’s coming down the aisle are making me cry–so evocative. But so so many fabulous shots here!

[…] catherine and wilbur, there was simply no better place to say i do. they chose to have a rooftop wedding at the hard rock hotel in san diego. it was cloudy that day, but catherine and wilbur couldn’t have shined any brighter. they […]

Wow you really can see the love with these two! Killer photos, but the beatles one rocks!!!

So inspiring. These are absolutely beautiful and so touching. These really tells the story of the day. Love Love and LOVE!

I just have to say, your photos are art. Every picture evokes a feeling to the viewer. I visit here often. I also really enjoy reading your story and captions of your couples. So heartfelt and kind.

What a kicka#$ venue! And what an amazing couple. You know how crazy I am about great music, so, man – I looooooooooved these imgaes. The last image is stunning! Pure art!

Just amazing. You guys never stop inspiring me!

Hotness. I I love love all these shots. Truly inspiring!

RE SICK U LOUS!!! The compositions, the creativity, the hotness bombtastical!

These pictures are re-dic-u-licious! Gorgeous in every way. She’s a stunner! I also looove that you incorporated their first date into their ring picture with peanuts and cracker jack!

Compositions, emotions, portraits all phenomenal!

These are simply phenomenal! The emotion and hotness captured here is…well superb! Love the tears at the aisle!

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