“When I look back later in the future, I want to know and remember how much fun people had”, a simple request from Mariam in handling the filming and videography for her wedding day, resonates a humble and sincere wish to have this timeless token of a wonderful wedding day handled as perfect as possible. We at SDE Weddings know all too well the magnitude of importance our work is to the overjoyed newlyweds as a means to reflect on happier days, on a lifetime’s milestone, on the days their lives were made complete. Indeed, for Mariam and Andrew, a young Ghanaian couple from Toronto, a token of remembrance of such a magnanimous occasion meant to them a milestone made immemorial. The two were wed in a very personal ceremony in Mariam’s residence, followed by a lively reception at the Claireport Place Banquet & Convention Centre. For us here in Toronto’s premier wedding videography and cinematography group, a humble request like Mariams’ is made no simple a feat, in particular, by a request for the wedding day to be filmed from beginning to end in all its entirety. Our wedding videographers, however, are ever up to the challenge, and with the end reward of bringing a smile to Mariam and Andrews’ faces, for us, there is no greater an achievement.

Mariam and Andrew both immigrated from the Ashanti region of Ghana, yet would find and complete each other in a serendipitous meeting nearly halfway across the globe here in Toronto, and it no doubt serves our pleasure as wedding videographers to play a part in our first traditional East African wedding. Our videographers began their storytelling journey with the bride and groom’s steadfast preparations on the morning of the wedding day. Bride and groom each opted for a conventional western ensemble for their wedding, and once everything was fit and perfect, the bride’s family eagerly welcomed Andrew and his relatives to their abode to begin the ceremony. Under the imam’s blessing, Mariam and Andrew were joined as husband and wife by a ritual prayer, which traces back to ancient Ghana’s adoption of Islam many centuries before.

The afternoon reception, however, would delve deep into Mariam and Andrew’s east African heritage, yet would surprisingly have a handful of multicultural vestiges befitting of the proverbial melting-pot which makes Toronto unique. In a grand banquet hall, one could hear the varied eclectic rhythms of east African Kizomba and Mapouka, with an added dash of Merengue, Reggae and Soul. Clearly Mariam and Andrew were a couple who treasured music and rhythm in their lives, a sentiment which found affirmation in the newlywed couples’ spotlighted formal entrance in an informal dancing routine down the main isle, a bit of lightheartedness to set the tone of the evening. Not only the newlyweds either, but the congregation itself were drawn into the lively atmosphere. A sultry yet sentimental couples’ dance would precede an array of toasts, well-wishes and blessings from from cultural leaders of Toronto’s Ghanaian community. To top everything off, Mariam organized a belly-dancing exhibition where she showed off her own moves alongside the professional dancers. The standard-fare cake cutting would also end with a passionate kiss between the newlyweds, and an equally passionate night of dancing of which every minute was captured by our videographers as per request.

We at SDE Weddings, Toronto’s premier wedding videography and cinematography group, are always amazed by the diversity to be found in this fair city, and are even more enamored by the immeasurable happiness found on the smiles of each and every couple who chose us to handle their wedding media matters. We sincerely wish Mariam and Andrew a prosperous and passionate life of love together, and hope, as Mariam wished for, that our work for them would be something worth looking back at to remember such a wonderful night.

Reception Venue Information: Claireport Place Banquet & Convention Centre | 65 Claireport Crescent, Toronto, ON M9W 6V5
Photographer: Nana Boakye
DJ Service: DJ Shorty
Wedding Coordinator/Planer: Akua Seerwaah