When designer Sandy Liang married her longtime partner, Dorian Booth, this spring, the celebration stretched across three locations: a City Hall ceremony in Manhattan, a traditional Chinese banquet at her father’s Queens restaurant, and a lively gathering in Booth’s home state of Maine. Each moment held its own meaning, but for Sandy, nothing compared to the intimacy and charm of the New York City Hall ceremony.
“Since I was little, I never imagined myself walking down a long aisle in some big traditional wedding,” she reflects. “I always thought: we’ll do City Hall, then grab drinks with friends. That just felt more me.”
That clarity gave her a framework to play with: less fairy tale fantasy, more modern magic. And in true Sandy Liang fashion, it was equal parts thoughtful, stylish, and refreshingly unpretentious.
Dressing the Part
For her City Hall vows, Sandy wanted something iconic but unexpected. “I had this vision of wearing a Chanel suit,” she says. “In the months leading up, I was living by YOGMO—You Only Get Married Once.”
She stumbled on the perfect match: a vintage Chanel tweed suit she found on The RealReal, white and gray with faint flecks of pink woven throughout. “It was beautiful, it fit perfectly—it felt like magic.” To finish the look, she chose classic Chanel slingbacks in glossy white patent leather.
Jewelry came courtesy of Mikimoto, where Sandy fell in love with delicate pearl huggies dotted with tiny diamonds, and a luminous pearl necklace with a soft pink sheen. “I learned so much about pearls looking through all the different strands,” she says. “This one was unlike anything I’d ever worn before—so shiny, so special.”
Hair, Makeup, and the Palermo Bow
As someone who usually leans on braids, Sandy experimented with different hairstyles before settling on a chic French twist. Her friend Lizzie helped test looks at her apartment until the twist—finished with one of Sandy’s own designs, the dramatic Palermo Bow—felt like the right fit.
Makeup was in the hands of artist Katie Jane Hughes, but Sandy came with a new confidence. “In my 20s, I was so self-conscious about makeup. I never wanted to look like I was trying too hard. But when I turned 30, I thought, life’s too short—I’m going to do what I want.”
For City Hall, that meant a bold cat eye, lined with both black and white for extra drama, balanced by a soft nude lip. Skin stayed fresh and natural with just concealer, while brows were perfected with Sandy’s own dual-tip Japanese brow pencil topped with Boy Brow. “Looking back at the photos, my skin looks amazing,” she says, laughing.
The finishing touch came in the form of nails—done, somewhat chaotically, the morning of. “I had completely forgotten, so I texted my friend Jade from @wuwunails to come over. She showed up and saved the day. That morning turned into this lovely little gathering: Jade doing nails, Katie on makeup, Lizzie with my hair. Even Dorian’s dad and my sister were there. Nothing felt stressful—it was just fun.”
A Hallway of Happiness
If the prep was easygoing, the ceremony itself had its own kind of magic. Arriving at City Hall, Sandy and Dorian were surprised to find a long line snaking through the building. “It felt like a Supreme drop,” she jokes. “We thought it would be quick, but instead it was packed.”
But the wait revealed something beautiful: “It was the longest, happiest hallway of people I’ve ever seen. It’s the only government building that radiates pure joy.”
When their turn came, the mood shifted. “The officiant said, ‘Don’t look at me, look at each other.’ That’s the part I remember most. Suddenly it felt very serious, very tender. Just me, him, and our parents watching.”
After exchanging vows, Sandy’s father marked the occasion with red packets filled with lucky money—a sweet nod to tradition. Then, in true New York fashion, the newlyweds walked home, hand in hand, before heading to her dad’s restaurant for dim sum.
The Favorite Chapter
Though the couple went on to celebrate again in Queens and Maine, Sandy insists City Hall was the highlight. “It was so seamless, so us. Just looking at each other in that moment, then walking home afterward—it felt beautiful and simple in the best way.”
For a designer known for turning nostalgia into something fresh and modern, it’s no surprise her wedding followed suit. There were no grand ballrooms, no sweeping veils. Instead, there was a vintage Chanel suit, a French twist topped with a bow, a line of strangers-turned-celebrants in a happy hallway, and a bowl of dim sum at the end of it all.
Sometimes the most romantic stories aren’t the most elaborate. Sometimes they’re the ones that feel like home.
