This Antique Jewelry Dealer Bride Wore an Art Deco Tiara as a Headband for Her New York City Wedding

Christine Cheng and Alex Inman have a long history. The antique jewelry dealer and lawyer first met in fifth grade as students at a suburban Chicago elementary school. By senior year of high school, they were dating. However, when they both went to college—the University of Pennsylvania and Stanford, respectively—the distance proved too difficult to manage. As so many high school sweethearts do, they broke up. But they never fell out of touch: throughout the years, Christine and Alex occasionally got drinks and texted, even as both of them moved abroad. And, in 2022—when they finally both found themselves in New York City—they decided to give it another go. For good this time: two years later, Alex proposed to Christine in Japan with a Victorian engagement ring. “My Victorian-era diamond cluster engagement ring is particularly unique and romantic with its crowned heart shape and had caught my eye on Instagram years earlier,” Christine says. “When it came across my desk for sale, it felt like it was meant to be.” (Adds Alex: “We had already discussed marriage, and I’m observant enough to recognize that when your girlfriend tells you exactly which engagement ring she wants without prompting, you should take that and run with it.”) The two wed on March 14, 2025, at New York’s City Hall. The date was a symbolic one for a couple—while they were dating in high school, Christine stole a T-shirt Alex made to celebrate Pi Day and kept it throughout the years. “Yes, we are nerds,” says Christine, laughing. “We also liked the symbolism of Pi representing the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, with circles/rings representing eternity.” The night before, Christine, a first generation Chinese American, held a traditional Chinese hairbrushing ceremony, which Vogue photographed for our “The Makeup of a Marriage” series. Christine wore a $125 vintage dress, originally made by Dynasty Hong Kong, a fashion brand that used to sell their clothes out of the Peninsula Hong Kong, for her civil ceremony. Other than some light readjusting of the buttons by Chinatown tailor Noble Madam, she kept the garment as is. She accessorized with a ladylike Cartier watch and almond blossom earrings by JAR Paris. Alex, meanwhile, wore a suit and an Aimé Leon Dore for Drake’s tie. Afterwards, they held a 10-course Chinese banquet at the Golden Unicorn in Chinatown. The bride changed into a crimson quipao, which she found at Jinza Oriental in Los Angeles. She paired it with antique kingfisher blue and carnelian hair ornaments that date back to China’s Qing Dynasty. As a final touch, she wrapped herself in an antique silk Canton floral shawl. The bride jokingly calls the whole affair—which included a performance by Columbia University’s Lion Dance team—“my big fat Chinese wedding.” The banquet began with servers parading in with whole roast suckling pigs for each table. “I probably should’ve followed my intuition to seat all the vegetarians at their own table to spare them the sight of so many animals served whole, but they insisted the experience was amusing,” Christine says. “As with so many Chinese traditions, there are layers of meaning and symbolism for each dish: whole suckling pig symbolizes the bride's virtue intact, whole duck symbolizes complete fidelity, whole fish symbolizes abundance, to name a few,” she explains. On Sunday, they held a Western-style wedding at the restaurant Manhatta in the Financial District. The bride admits she dressed “from the jewels down". She sourced antique Art Deco Pagoda earrings as well as an antique Art Deco tiara. Instead of wearing it placed upon her head, she chose to style it as a headband. (This choice was a popular one for aristocratic women during that time period.) “I wore my hair down, to contrast with the previous evening’s updo and have a more romantic look. This provided the perfect canvas for the tiara worn as a headband, which felt less formal,” she says. To match his wife, the groom put on a pair of Art Deco cufflinks. Alex actually found Christine’s dress for her. She knew she wanted a minimal design—however, bogged down by the logistics that come with planning a wedding in just three months, Christine didn’t actually have time to find it. So Alex scoured the internet on her behalf. He finally tracked down the perfect classic Vivienne Westwood corset dress. “The fact that we were able to find a stock sized Vivienne Westwood gown in the style that Christine wanted felt like a small miracle, but I had to order it from Germany via Mytheresa and it only arrived three days before the event,” he says. Alex, meanwhile, donned a midnight blue tuxedo (that he found well ahead of time). The dress code for the evening was “black tie (and jewels) requested,” and guests returned in kind, wearing a colorful array of earrings, bracelets, brooches, and accessories. “I didn’t think married life would feel so different, considering we’ve known each other for so long and had already moved in together. I was wrong. Marriage unlocked a new level of trust, love, everything,” Christine says of their wedding. ‘There’s a famous French jewelry motif featuring the +/- signs inspired by the 1889 poem by Rosemonde Gérard, ‘Les Vieux.’ Gérard declared “chaque jour je t’aime davantage, aujourd’hui plus qu’hier et bien moins que demain” meaning “I love you more (+) than yesterday, less (-) than tomorrow. This is a sentiment I understand, and feel, now.” Alex and I post-marriage ceremony on the steps of the Federal Courthouse, where Alex otherwise sometimes goes for work. This 1950s silk dress from Hong Kong perfectly mixes Chinese and Western elements and is one of those incredible vintage finds I’ll be bragging about forever. My antique diamond cluster engagement ring and vintage Cartier watch. Alex wanted matching wedding bands, which is hard (though not impossible!) to find vintage. Instead, we had our bands custom made by my friend, James de Givenchy of Taffin, in 20k yellow gold so they would have an antique gold look. They are both engraved inside with the date, 3.14.25—formatted to resemble Pi. Fox Fodder Flowers understood the assignment when I asked them to create a small bouquet inspired by my jewelry. A quick check in the iPhone mirror before heading into the “chapel.” I wore my almond blossom earrings by Jar Paris, which I asked the florist to use as inspiration for my bouquet. Requisite shot in front of the City Hall backdrop. Alex knows how much I love a hand kiss. You can also see here how the pattern of his tie coordinates with the circular shòu (壽 = longevity) motifs & round buttons of my vintage dress. Golden Unicorn is one of the last banquet halls in Manhattan’s Chinatown, which made venue scouting easy! Inside the banquet hall, which felt so nostalgic to me with the timeless interior and table dressings: is it 1970 or 2025? We chose to only add candle lamps to each table, otherwise preserving the restaurant’s existing decor and wedding banquet practices for a true Chinese-American experience. Something blue: Qing dynasty hair ornaments featuring kingfisher feathers and carnelian in the form of auspicious flowers, dragons & butterflies. You can’t tell from the photo, but these trembled as I moved, really bringing the look to life! Cut flowers can have funereal connotations in Chinese culture, so I incorporated florals in a different way: my outfit. See the blue & red flowers depicted on my antique Swiss enamel earrings and embroidered on my silk Canton shawl. The antique silk embroidered and fringed Canton shawl added texture and drama while keeping me warm. I’m generally a big fan of carrying a fan as an accessory (more texture, more drama) and highly recommend a tuanshan (moon shaped fan) in place of a bouquet for your Chinese banquet. Alex had initially planned to wear the same tuxedo for both dinners, but was inspired to find a white dinner jacket instead once he saw my red velvet qipao. I love how our looks came together and this picture of us having a moment amid the lively banquet. Levi Higgs with a festive red tie and David Webb dragon brooch. Taylor Yow stuns in a black lace qipao and vintage jewelry. Joanna Pollack perfectly followed the Chinese banquet dress code of warm colors with extra credit for gold jewelry. Making the rounds for a toast with each guest. My mother-in-law, Kim Inman, and mother, Lisha Cheng, dressed in auspicious red and wearing plenty of jewelry. The first course of a traditional ten course wedding feast: a whole roasted suckling pig for each table! Many dishes served at a Chinese banquet are symbolic; a suckling pig traditionally represented the bride’s purity and virtue. Each table was also served an entire king crab and a whole fish, representing abundance—there’s no way anyone left hungry. The Columbia University Lion Dancers dazzled guests with a show during dinner. I was thrilled to support student performing arts, as I was also part of a dance group in college (Penn Dance forever!) Giving red envelopes full of money to the Lion Dancers as thanks for their blessings and lucky oranges. You can also see here the traditional 24k gold Chinese bangle my mother gifted me for the occasion. Our kitschy heart shaped cake from Tai Pan bakery. Alex chose the cake toppers as an ode to our rescue cats, Susie and Gumbo. We almost forgot the cake knife, but were able to pick up a knife & server set in the ‘Lotus’ pattern from Tiffany & Co. which we will engrave with our initials and the date before gifting to my youngest sister and her fiancé who will be married next! Cutting the cake! Classic vanilla sponge with chestnut filling: not too sweet and so nostalgic (this is the kind of cake my family celebrated with throughout my childhood). The view of downtown NYC from Alex’s suite at the Beekman on Saturday. I sourced “his and hers” Art Deco diamonds for the black tie dinner on Saturday: cufflinks for him; earrings and a tiara (worn as a headband) for me. My antique diamond cluster engagement ring, circa 1870. I love the crowned heart motif and the open culet of the antique diamond, so romantic. I gifted Alex my late father’s Rolex for the wedding, and we had a new strap made by Jean Rousseau to make it his own. Now Alex can choose between wearing the watch with its original jubilee gold link bracelet or the new leather strap. I changed my nail color to better complement my dress for Saturday. This weekend will be the only time I wear my engagement ring and wedding band together—I otherwise prefer to wear one or the other according to the occasion. The Victorian atrium at the Beekman is a New York City “interior landmark” originally opened in 1883 and appealed to us as history lovers who had an early date at the bar beneath. I wore a Vivienne Westwood dress with a fitting Gilded Age silhouette. Alex saved the day finding this off the rack via Mytheresa while I was still hoping to find something vintage a week away from the wedding. He remembered I had dreamed in high school about wearing Vivienne Westwood or Alexander McQueen for my wedding someday. We wanted to bring an intimate supper club atmosphere to Manhatta, Danny Meyer’s Michelin guide recommended restaurant on the 60th floor of a downtown skyscraper. Levi Higgs wore a 1960s Taurus (my astrological sign) brooch by David Webb in my honor. The cutest (& sparkliest!) baby bump—so excited for our friends Meaghan and Tom Sawatzke. I love the way Taylor Yow pinned this Belle Epoque diamond brooch on her bodice. The dress code was “black tie (and jewels!) requested.” A cocktail and a proper cocktail ring by Kia Schwann on Joanna Pollack. Arrangements by Fox Fodder Flowers and romantic tall tapers set the mood for a delicious celebratory dinner. Christian McGhee and The Xtet serenaded guests with jazzy tunes. A moment for the Art Deco diamonds, please! I didn’t get to wear a veil, but I certainly had fun with my hair accessories this weekend and still felt very bridal. Sneaking a kiss in the elevator. Good night!