Island Wedding |The Nuamahs celebrate love in Portland

After a decade of friendship, love and shared milestones, Abigail Abu and Ian Nuamah chose the picturesque Trident Castle in Port Antonio, Portland, for their destination wedding last September. But long before they exchanged vows on the island, their story began with something far less romantic: a free tax clinic at York University in Canada in 2015. Abigail needed help preparing her taxes, and Ian, invited by a friend to attend the clinic through a financial literacy programme, was the man for the job.

As they talked numbers, Abigail came away impressed by Ian’s intelligence and professionalism. “He was intelligent, professional … [and] this guy knows what he’s doing,” she recalled thinking. He became her tax accountant and, for a few years, that was the extent of their relationship.

By 2017, however, Ian began to take an interest in Abigail beyond taxes. He admired her ambition and the curiosity she brought to conversations.

He shared with Island Wedding, “She was curious about business, real estate and what she could build for herself. She asked questions because she genuinely wanted to understand things, particularly when it came to the real estate market and opportunities for her future. There was a spark in her whenever she talked about what she wanted to accomplish.”

In the summer of 2019, Abigail and Ian would occasionally meet in Vaughan or Brampton to study for their real estate licensing exams. One day, when Abigail and her business partners were participating in a pitch competition downtown, she noticed Ian seemed particularly determined to pick her up. She recalled thinking, “Why are you coming all the way downtown to get me? That’s kind of weird.”

Ian’s company was involved in the competition and was working with QuickBooks. He had volunteered to attend, and Abigail took notice of his efforts. For the rest of 2019, they continued studying together, with Starbucks visits, shared meals, and long conversations becoming part of their time together.

In July 2020, the two went on their first date at KŌST, a restaurant in downtown Toronto. For the first time, Abigail allowed herself to see Ian as more than the “work husband” and study partner she had come to know over the years. She found herself realising that she could not imagine her life without him.

“I was beginning to see him as someone I could actually build a romantic relationship with,” she said.

Looking back on what drew her to Ian, Abigail continued, “The more I got to know him, the more I noticed how dependable, thoughtful and intentional he was. Ian listens. He remembers little things. And, if he says he’s going to do something, he does it.”

Their first date confirmed there was something worth exploring beyond friendship. On September 21, 2020, Ian asked Abigail to be his girlfriend, and she said yes.

In November 2021, a trip to South Africa to attend the wedding of one of Ian’s friends became a defining moment in their relationship. The couple were stranded in the country amid the COVID-19 pandemic when Abigail contracted the virus. Although her case seemed severe, Ian’s support brought her comfort.

And, for Ian, stepping up for Abigail came naturally.

“There wasn’t really a question of what I needed to do when Abi got sick. My focus was making sure she felt safe, staying calm, and figuring out whatever needed to be handled,” he explained.

“Experiences like that show you what a relationship looks like when things aren’t going according to plan. It reinforced for me that I wanted to be someone she could rely on, no matter what situation we found ourselves in,” he continued.

SCAVENGER-HUNT-STYLE PROPOSAL

In September 2022, their families participated in a traditional Ghanaian knocking ceremony, formally expressing their intention to marry. Ian began planning his proposal for July 30, 2023, drawing inspiration from something Abigail had mentioned years earlier.

“She had casually mentioned seeing a scavenger-hunt-style proposal in the UK. She probably didn’t even realise I remembered it. But that’s how I am. When Abigail says something that matters to her, I remember,” he told Island Wedding.

To bring the idea to life, Ian arranged a scavenger hunt that would take Abigail through significant places in their relationship. He initially told her, through his cousin, that she would be attending her birthday brunch. When she arrived, however, she found only Ian’s cousin, who handed her a card explaining that she would spend the day revisiting chapters of her and Ian’s journey, with him waiting at the end.

The hunt took Abigail to Balzac’s Coffee Roasters, where they had studied together, and the first property they bought together at Tretti Condos. Another stop was KŌST, where they had their first date. There, her close friends were waiting, and the group shared a meal.

The next note led her to her hotel room, where her makeup artist, dress and accessories were waiting for a photoshoot she had initially planned with her mother. After getting dressed, she took an Uber to Knox College, where Ian was waiting.

He delivered a speech about the life they had built together before asking her to be his wife. Abigail said yes.

The celebrations continued at a restaurant Ian had booked, where they were joined by their closest family and friends.

Abigail was in tears throughout the day, still in shock at what Ian had planned. “[It] showed me how deeply this man knows me. When I saw him standing there with the violinist playing, the candles, the red carpet and everything he had created, it was emotional because I understood how much thought had gone into it,” she said.

She also credited Ian with changing how she viewed independence and partnership. “I’ve always been extremely independent. If something needed to be done, I did it myself. He showed me that it was safe to lean … and that I could trust someone else to carry things with me,” she shared.

The couple’s wedding celebrations began with their traditional Ghanaian wedding on June 1, 2024, at Embassy Grand in Brampton, Ontario. They later hosted their destination wedding ceremony at Trident Castle in Port Antonio, Jamaica, on September 17, 2025.

For Ian, the most memorable moment of the Jamaican ceremony was seeing Abigail walk down the aisle.

“This was someone I had known for about 10 years. Someone who had gone from being my tax client, to my friend, to my study partner, to my girlfriend, to my fiancée and, ultimately, my wife. Seeing her walking toward me made the entire journey feel real,” he said.

For Abigail, the relationship had shown her that love was not about one grand gesture, but the consistency of having someone by her side.

“I didn’t fall in love because of one huge romantic gesture. I fell in love because he consistently showed me that I didn’t have to do life alone,” she said.

ruth-ann.briscoe@gleanerjm.com