In 2016, Sandy Liang and Dorian Booth matched on Bumble. At the time, Liang—the fashion designer behind the beloved New York label Sandy Liang—wasn’t looking for anything serious. “I was having fun being single,” she says. Neither, really, was Dorian: He was just finishing up his master’s degree in architecture at Yale, commuting from New Haven to New York on weekends to look for a job. But as the saying goes, sometimes love comes when you least expect it. Fast-forward eight years later, and Dorian proposed in a vineyard on the Venetian island of Mazzorbo. “We were the only people there—it was just so serene and vast,” Sandy says. “I barely said yes. Apparently I was babbling—not in a crying way, just in a happy way.”
Upon their return, Sandy’s father asked what she describes as his “kind of fortune-teller, spiritual-advisor man” to pick the luckiest day for their wedding. The guru’s answer? May 28.
So on May 28 the two held a traditional Chinese banquet at her family’s restaurant in Flushing, Queens.
Sandy began the day by burning incense and then getting her hair brushed by her mother. After giving red packets to her sister, cousin, and best friend—considered tokens of good luck in Chinese culture—she had a bowl of tangyuan and poured tea for her parents. Afterward, she changed into a custom crimson silk jacket and skirt made by Chinatown shop Noble Madam. Her hair stylist, artist Lizzie Arneson, twisted her locks into an intricate twisted bun, and make-up artist Sena Murahashi dabbed on nude lipstick.
Meanwhile Dorian was playing a series of games, set up by Sandy’s sister, devised to prove his love for the bride. One of them comically involved the groom searching for a Sandy Liang Mary Jane, her brand’s most sought-after product. (Upon release, they sold out in two days.) “That game has something to do with making sure we don’t run away from each other,” Sandy recalls, laughing. “I’m the first kid to get married, so it was a funny fusion of known traditions and just googling what we were supposed to do.” After Dorian found her footwear, he carried Sandy downstairs and into their friend’s car, which took them across a bridge for good luck.
Their evening at the restaurant began with a tea ceremony, where Sandy and Dorian poured hot drinks for the elders and they, in turn, gave them gold jewellery. For the celebratory dinner that followed, she changed into a second dress of her own design and then a third as the party began, which she accessorised with undereye gems. They ended the night with karaoke at a bar next door. (“Dorian loves karaoke,” Sandy explains.)
A month later, over the weekend of June 23, they held a second wedding at Dorian’s family home in Lincolnville, Maine. The couple worked with planner Molly O’Rourke, founder of One & Supp, to craft a coastal New England affair with a downtown creative edge. “Maine is our happy place, and I wanted to share that with our close friends,” says Sandy. “The idea was to have it feel like a giant sleepover for a weekend, but dressed up.”
On Friday they had a welcome party on the beach, where guests ate lobster rolls and skipped rocks until the sun went down. The next day Sandy and Dorian held a cocktail and dinner party under a tent in the Booths’ backyard.
The bride wore a gown of her own design, called the Ponyo dress. Made of silk taffeta—“if a princess were a fabric, this would be it,” elaborates Sandy—the Ponyo featured elbow-length sleeves and a cape. She paired it with Mikimoto pearls and a dramatic veil, while Arneson adorned her long raven hair with bows. “One of my core inspirations will forever be Marie Antoinette by Sofia Coppola,” Sandy says. “I wanted to channel that energy into my wedding look. I’m used to always being behind the scenes, so it was so much fun to be the girl getting dressed up.” In lieu of a bouquet, she had a single allium with a black ribbon by florist Miguel Yatco. As she walked along a winding path of tall grass and wildflowers, covered with mist coming off the ocean, Dorian was waiting in a suit from Bhambi’s Custom Tailors. (Little did the couple know that Dorian’s father had been painstakingly mowing the lawn for the past month to create such an idyllic setting for the reception: “There was a lot of care poured into the whole situation. I loved how we were enclosed by all the tall grass and you had to sort of wander into the tent,” she said.)
Sandy enlisted the expertise of several accomplished friends throughout the evening: James Beard Award–winning chef Danny Bowien, along with Portland-based chef Paolo Laboa, catered her dinner. Paolo’s son Simone baked the couple’s giant white sheet cake, which sat upon a board crafted by her father-in-law. Centa, a Lisbon-based creative studio that works with Loewe and Zara, made giant ribbon centerpieces for the tables that sat alongside calla lilies tied to ivory candles and vintage silverware the bride sourced herself. “I am so lucky to have so many talented people in my life who I roped into doing this whole thing with me,” she says.
Guests dined on a gourmet feast of lobster with burrata, fish steamed in parchment, grilled beef with charcoaled chili, and eggplant caponata as rain poured down around them. The mercurial weather, says Sandy, made an impeccably moody atmosphere: “It felt cozy and dreamy—a very special moment for me.”
Sandy and Dorian say their predominant feelings about their two weddings is a simple one: happiness. “I was happy to see my family happy,” Sandy says. “Flushing was a lot of fun, and I loved what we did in Maine. Being in that environment was very surreal.”
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Eating traditional tangyuan with bird’s nest after getting my hair brushed by my mom.
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My sister and cousin had to hide one of my shoes for Dorian to find.
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Dorian had to slip red envelopes of cash under the door in order to bribe his way in.
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I’m waiting on my bed while Dorian is rummaging the room for the hidden red shoe.
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Dorian and his friends have arrived and are ready for the games.
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The groomsmen had to pick up mahjong tiles with their feet as part of the bridal games.
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Dorian carrying me down the stairs after he found the missing shoe.
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Getting in the car for our auspicious drive over the bridge.
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Receiving lucky gold jewelry and red envelopes from our elders.
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My grandma presenting me with jewelry. This was an emotional moment for me!
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Me with my besties: Gene, Esther, Kathy, Rae, and Jacky
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Walking through the kitchen to make a little entrance.
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Outside in Flushing, about to enter the restaurant.
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Me and my dad!
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They dimmed the lights and had servers walk out with the first course.
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We went to each table and did a toast!
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My mom and grandma in my sister’s room re-boxing the jewelry after the party.
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Headed to karaoke to finish off the night.
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Discovered that Dorian is a different person at karaoke. I used my bouquet as my mic.
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Our friends and family at the Duck Trap in Maine the day before the wedding.
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Lizzie Arneson helped me braid my hair and tie it in black silk ribbons.
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We had oysters and lobster rolls from Mere Point Oysters.
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A weekend of hugs.
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Our special rock, created by our friend (and one of our photographers) Steven.
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The tent while getting set up for the weekend.
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Last-minute manicure the morning of the party.
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Working on some bow prototypes with Molly, our wedding planner, and Tim, my best friend.
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The Ponyo dress in silk taffeta!
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Shoes for the weekend.
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Lizzie putting bows in my hair.
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Heading toward the house right before the party started.
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Us with Dorian’s dad and our dog Tim.
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Heading toward the tent!
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Heading into the tent with Tim.
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Our friend Laura, walking toward the tent.
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Enjoying a martini out of my scallop shell.
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Dorian with our guests on the lawn.
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Lizzie fixing my veil.
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I loved the misty and moody weather.
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Pearls are my favorite gems.
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Me and Tim!
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My favourite detail on my dress is the pleated back cape.
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Danny and Paolo heading toward the tent with a giant vat of risotto.
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Masami and I among the lupine.
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I had possibly too much fun designing the table with Molly.
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The tiny menu is my favourite thing ever.
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Showing off my tiny menu and shell chalice.
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A sweet kiss after our toast.
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Molly and the whole team getting ready.
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Little satin bows under my veil.
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Ending the night with karaoke, of course.
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These ginormous ribbon centerpieces by Centa make me smile.
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Mitch let me borrow his camera for a minute.
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I love our giant sheet cake made by Simone.
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My mom ripping a tequila shot, of course.
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Me and my girls!
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The perfect setting for a little party.
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Running into the field.
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