The Royalton Vaughan

Alice and Derek's Ghanaian Canadian Wedding at the Royalton Banquet Hall

Hello Hello Hello! Welcome to another edition of my blog posts!

A most stylish couple and some very unique wedding elements! This is how I would describe the wedding of Alice and Derek. Working with vendors from around the world, their elegant 2-day Ghanaian Traditional Wedding and Modern White Wedding came to life in Toronto Canada. The first day was the traditional Ghanaian ceremony day and it was a beautiful showcase bursting with colorful purple details. The couple was very intentional with showcasing their shared Ghanaian culture (with new-age twists!). What I really loved was how they were big on choosing African vendors (or vendors of African Heritage) for almost all the elements of their wedding. Designz by May set the stage with a gorgeous backdrop featuring beautiful purple and white panels and accompanying floral details.

The bride’s makeup was beautifully done by Avaya Noelle and how lucky was the bride to have her friend and renowned celebrity hairstylist Hair by Estylez do her hair in a most fabulous and unique creation.

A Unique Canopy was provided by Designs by May that provided the couple a featured stage in the room.

Dj Fiasco spinned some cool modern and traditional Ghanaian tunes while balancing the audio for the traditional ceremony

The traditional ceremony was a fashion show of African fabrics. I was totally in awe capturing all the beautiful guests and wedding party

The bride wore a dress fit for Royalty.

The wedding (including church ceremony and reception) took place on the second day.

Alice’s white wedding dress was a show stopper and she looked stunning in it! Hollywood has nothing on her! The dress was made by talented Ghanaian designer Sima Brew. Derek on the other hand wore a white suit designed by Maison Hardman. The pair together were just Ghanaian Royalty!

My second shooter Shubila K captured the men’s getting ready whilst I covered the bride’s getting ready! Shubila is a star in her own right and am grateful for all the help and amazing shots she captured.

Right after the getting ready photos the couple had their first look and it was so beautiful am sure I cried some tears somewhere lol. I loved the area we chose to do the first look.

The church ceremony was filled with family and friends witnessing the couple get officially hitched.

After the ceremony we headed to the stunning Vaughan city hall (one of my favourite architectural locations in the G.T.A) and the Vaughan civic library to take the official portraits of the wedding party.

The grand event was the reception. Once again Designs by May outdid herself! Drop dead gorgeous decor and my fav was the unique canopy on the stage specially designed for the bride and groom. I was in awe when I walked in. Literal decor eye candy for a photographer everywhere!

The bride and groom had a unique entrance. Entering separately from two different doors and joining together as they reached the middle! Super cool!

I absolutely loved how the families all showered the bride and groom with love as they danced and the tradition of spraying the couple with money was a delight to watch.

The towering cake was created by Mecairo’s cake company and honestly it was a star centrepiece on its own. I absolutely loved the fireworks show put on during the cake cutting.

Anyway enough of my writing I will let you enjoy the images as much as I enjoyed taking them.

VENDORS:

Venue: The Royalton Banquet Hall

PHOTO LOCATION: Vaughan City Hall

Reception: The Royalton

THIS WEDDING IS CURRENTLY FEATURED ON THE LATEST ISSUE OF MUNALUCHI BRIDE MAGAZINE! HERE ARE SOME SNIPPETS FROM THE MAGAZINE!

YOU CAN VIEW THE ISSUE ONLINE AND CAN PURCHASE A DIGITAL COPY AS WELL

Ghanaian Fan at traditional wedding ceremony
Designz by May Decor Setup The Royalton Venue in Vaughan Photo by Karimah Gheddai of Ghanaian traditional wedding
Ghanaian traditional wedding ceremony at the Royalton Banquet Hall in Vaughan - Photo by Toronto based wedding photographer Karimah Gheddai

The Wedding Day!

Here are some highlight images from the wedding day which happened a day after the traditional wedding event!

First Look with Ghanaian Couple Alice and Derek at Vaughan City Hall
Designz by May Decor at the Royalton

Sinit and Alex's Eritrean Ecuadorian Wedding at the Royalton and Glendon College

Hi Everyone! Welcome to another blog post on my website. The first one I get to post this year is the beautiful wedding of Sinit and Alex!

St. Basil's Church Wedding Toronto - Eritrean Ecuadorian Bride and Groom - Photos by Toronto based wedding photographer Karimah Gheddai

I met this couple back in 2022. when I had the pleasure of covering their engagement shoot that year. You can see that shoot HERE!

In June of 2023, I was fortunate to cover their beautiful wedding! I have to say this couple is one of the most down to earth, easy going and and fun loving couples that I have ever had the pleasure of capturing.

The wedding day started out at a downtown tower, where I arrived at 8.00 am and was super happy to find both the bride and groom ready to go in their separate suites for the getting ready images. The bride’s beautiful makeup was done by talented M.U.A Tracy K and her hair was styled by BBN Studios.

The church ceremony took place at St. Basil’s Cathedral (part of St Michael’s college at the University of Toronto). You can imagine my happiness when I found out it was only a 5 minute walk from the getting ready location so there was virtually no chance of any of the wedding party or vendors being late/ stuck in traffic.

It was a heartfelt ceremony and I found myself crying with the bride and groom, as they saw each other for the first time while the bride walked down the aisle accompanied by her father. After the church ceremony there was the usual chaos and exuberant joy of family and friends exiting the church behind the bride and groom, however as I had already attended the rehearsal and gave some tips for this portion of the day the bride and groom were ready for the family portraits at a location we selected at the rehearsal. Everything went so smoothly (well except for the fact that the sun decided to be dramatic and change directions every two minutes. I think it just wanted to serenade the couple and their guests with light because it was such a joyous day).

Having spent time with the bride to prepare the photography schedule ahead of the wedding day, we did the photoshoot on the stunning grounds of Glendon college! We made sure to put enough buffer time for the large wedding party and am glad my advice of sticking with the buffer time was adhered to. The bride and groom have such wonderful friends who really made the experience a fun one for the couple. Adding a lovely element to the “lifetime of memories experience”.

The reception took place at the Royalton Banquet Hall. I fell in love with the decor the minute I saw it! A beautiful setup by Babylon Decor!

My personal favourite moment of the evening was the traditional Eritrean entrance, complete with men holding swords and the women drumming away. That was a sight to behold whilst the wedding party were escorted in to the reception hall. I loved it! Well I will let you take a look at the images below and see the beautiful happenings of the day! Please do check out the following vendors as well!

Vendors:

Reception Venue: The Royalton

Ceremony Venue: St. Basil’s Church (part of St. Michael’s College at UofT)

Portraits Location: Glendon College

Melse Venue: The Lithianian Centre

Videographer: PhotoBerhan

Florals and Decor: Babylon Decor

M.U.A: Tracy K

Hair: BBN Studio

Bride;s Dress: The bride’s choice official

Groom’s Suit: The Suit Supply

Wedding Bands: Bobby Ll Toronto

Catering: Tsehaye

Cake: Tatiana Treats 2.0

DJ: Andre Clarke

Second Shooter for Karimah Gheddai Photography: Ali Haider

Assistant for KGP on the Day: Raghav

If you would like to book me for your 2024 Engagement Shoot, Wedding or Event then get in touch HERE!

Eritrean Bride getting her makeup done by Toronto based M.U.A Tracy K. Photo by Karimah Gheddai Photography
Eritrean bride getting ready with her sister
Downtown Toronto Wedding
eritrean wedding toronto - eritrean bride - photoby toronto based photographer Karimah Gheddai
St. Basil's Church wedding in Toronto captured by Karimah Gheddai Photography
st basil's church wedding toronto - Photos by Karimah Gheddai
Karimah_Gheddai_Photography_The_Royalton_event_space_Vaughan.jpg
Eritrean Wedding Toronto

The Melse is the traditional Eritrean event that follows a wedding. This Melse happened the day after the wedding. Starting at the getting ready suites and the celeberation venue being at the Lithuanian community centre.

Eritrean Bride at her Melse in Toronto - Photo by Toronto based African Photographer Karimah Gheddai
Eritrean Bride at her Melse in Toronto - Photo by Toronto based African Photographer Karimah Gheddai

Thank you for stopping by to read my latest blog post. I hope you enjoyed looking through the images as much as I enjoyed covering this event and putting together the post. Until next time I hope to see you back here or better yet that we get to work together!

-Karimah

If you would like to book me for your 2024 Engagement Shoot, Wedding or Event then get in touch HERE!