It was certainly a wedding to remember.
With their big ceremony looming, Stephanie and Brian Tobe relaxed in their hotel suite, which overlooked the famed Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, California.
Outside, President Obama was coming up to the course’s 18th hole — which the suite overlooked — finishing a round of golf that had captured the attention of the roughly 60 wedding guests that sat nearby in the resort’s lawn area.
The couple had held up their nuptials to allow the president to finish his round.
But when he finished, Obama decided to crash the wedding. Wedding photographer Erin Youngren was on the lawn when she spotted the president’s row of golf carts heading her way.
She told the couple via earpiece upstairs that the president was approaching and that they should come down quickly.
They did.
“We had to leave the room, run down the hallway to the elevator and go down another hallway,” Brian told NBC News. “We pretty much decided instantly that we were going to break tradition of not seeing the audience before taking our vows, it was just too big of a moment to miss.”
As the guests lined up to shake Obama’s hand, the president's focus was first on the soon-to-be newlyweds.
“Hey, we got to see the bride and groom,” Obama shouted as he walked toward the couple who had raced down to meet him.
He hugged them before the three posed together for photos. The couple says he later offered some advice for their new life ahead.
“I would never have expected to ever meet a president in my lifetime,” said Stephanie. “It was an amazing way to kick off our wedding.”
