Playfully pushing the boundaries of what a wedding can look like, Yiming and Xiaohang’s intimate New Zealand elopement was fun, vintage-infused, and, overall, felt a little like a small art exhibition.
With their celebrant and a close friend as witness, they shared their vows in an awe-inspiring 1930s Auckland train station. “Combining the train station venue,” the couple shares, “Our planning team drew inspiration from chess: the ceremony area was designed like a chessboard, with irregular floral arrangements scattered across it like pieces.”
The venue itself was a recommendation by their wedding planner Lynn of Goodday Wedding. “It had so many elements full of character, and it was exactly the style I loved. We barely hesitated before deciding to hold our ceremony there.”
“Every single person on the wedding planning team was outstanding,” the newlyweds add. In the mix, Luckylove who designed this avant garde floral chess idea, Yuyu – the bride’s make up artist, and film photographer kokomofilm who the couple describe as “incredibly conscientious”.
Scroll on to step inside Yiming and Xiaohang’s truly unique nuptials.
Unique, avant-garde wedding details at this cool New Zealand wedding venue
“There are so many details we loved. First was our vow cards – the front had a unique text pattern done in hand-stitching, and also featured a photo of the two of us, paired with a vintage font and paper texture, so it felt like a delicate little handmade piece. The planning team also specially designed and made a hand-crocheted bunting for us, woven with the Latin phrase ‘Tempus fugit, amor manet’, meaning ‘time flies, love remains’. It echoed the clock elements of the train station beautifully, and suited our vintage, romantic, artistic-style perfectly. The onsite floral design was also really special. The planning team took inspiration from chess, arranging irregular florals like scattered pieces on a chessboard – stylish and full of fun, adding a lot of playful energy to the whole wedding. I also loved the train station’s original wooden noticeboard. The planning team pinned up our wedding poster designed by our good friend, along with a photo of the two of us, blending naturally with the vintage train-station setting, On top of that, my bouquet was designed to be able to spin. This little touch of ingenuity meant the bouquet wasn’t just a static decoration – it felt more like a small interactive artwork.”
Vintage bridal style: two heirloom dresses
“I wore two vintage dresses for the ceremony, both from The Newly Thread. The first was a 100-year-old lace dress with incredibly delicate details. It was also extremely small, so hardly anyone could fit into it. Luckily, it happened to be exactly my size. The second was a vintage dress by Remarker. I especially loved the floral details around the neckline and along the back of the train.
The perfect suit, sourced just in the nick of time
“The suit was from the Italian brand Callisto. We actually bought it in a rush in Shanghai the night before flying to Auckland, but it turned out the colour and texture suited the train station setting perfectly.”
Memorable moments: a magical Auckland sunset and celebrating with a close friend
“My most unforgettable moment was the completely unexpected sunset glow on our wedding day. Auckland had been overcast that day with a storm approaching, so after the ceremony at the train station, when we went to the park for outdoor photos, we weren’t expecting much from the sunset. But the sky slowly shifted from pale yellow to purple-pink, and finally spread into a whole sheet of orange-red, with the light turning our faces rosy. Another really precious memory is that my close friend Xiao Dong came all the way to New Zealand to be our celebrant. She was the only friend present at our wedding, so her company and witnessing it meant a huge amount to us.”
Elopement inspo, getting married in New Zealand and unique wedding ideas
Check out o for more breathtaking NZ weddings, or click here if it’s elopement inspo you’re after. Then get the creative juices flowing by studying these quirky nuptials (stacked with some of the most unique wedding ideas we’ve seen).
CONTRIBUTING VENDORS Photographer Kokomofilm Cinematographer Boshi Wang Event Planner Goodday Wedding Florist Lucky Love Floral Ceremony Venue Auckland Old Railway Station Cake Maker Ivory Atelier Celebrant Ian McInnes THE BRIDE Bridal Boutique The Newly Thread Makeup Yuyu Jin Li THE GROOM Suit Callisto
