"A transformative spatial intervention that elevates a civic hall into a romantic, highly personalized ceremonial landscape, balancing large-scale logistics with intimate human moments."
-------- Review from Future Art & Design Award
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Project description
Departing from the conventional formality of government-hosted events, the project took "Cherished Love Forever, Happiness by Your Side" as its core theme. Centered on the concepts of romance, elegance, and eternity, it was designed as a truly personal wedding experience for newlyweds. The event planning preserved the essence of a wedding—eternal vows and romantic ceremonial ritual—incorporating dedicated moments for individual couple processional entries, exchange of vows, and solemnization ceremonies to create once-in-a-lifetime memories.
The theme echoes the gift given to the couples: a pearl-and-crystal necklace that symbolizes the purity of love, while "happiness by your side" signifies the city government standing as their strongest support through marriage and family life. The main visual integrates New Taipei City's skyline and MRT infrastructure, illustrating a picture of happy living as couples step hand-in-hand toward their next chapter.
For the first time, the 6th-floor auditorium of New Taipei City Hall was re-envisioned as a mass wedding venue. The design team discarded the original fixed stage to erect a custom main stage, thoughtfully arranging a pink runner carpet, a central aisle, a large floral arch, low floral arrangements, and floating balloons. This spatial transformation converted an administrative hall into a bright, soft ceremonial setting.
Faced with 102 couples and their many guests, the design avoided uniform standardization in favor of personal experience, preserving individual couple processionals, solemnization, and commemorative group photos within a large-scale event. Led by Mayor Hou Yu-ih, the couples completed their vows, while city infrastructure and family support policies were integrated into backdrops and event messaging—blending romantic sentiment, ceremonial dignity, public blessing, and local identity.
Both the briefing session and the official wedding took place in the same auditorium. Through entirely different layouts and circulation pathways, the planning team surprised couples upon their return. This spatial transformation of an administrative hall demonstrates the city government's commitment to event quality and the emotional experience of newlyweds, infusing a large-scale wedding with memorable human warmth.
A pink carpet serves as the ceremonial axis of the venue, while gold chiavari chairs, pink-and-gold floral design, and a large floral arch create soft, layered depth. Transparent balloons containing smaller pink, light blue, and metallic balloons echo the smooth roundness of pearls and the concept of companionship.
The stage backdrop features delicate watercolor tones depicting the New Taipei City Hall building, surrounding mountain landscapes, and the Sanying Line train, harmonizing with the auditorium’s existing natural wood wall paneling and natural daylight. Materials extend seamlessly from the floor to the central aisle and up to the stage, establishing visual continuity across zones and unifying the color palette within the existing architectural framework to deliver a wedding scene with strong civic identity.
The 6th-floor auditorium needed to accommodate 102 couples along with their families, friends, and event staff, totaling approximately 700 guests on site. The team recalculated the proportions of the stage, seating areas, and pathways, zoning the couples and guests separately. Seating and entry/exit routes were assigned based on odd and even couple numbers to stagger circulation and minimize traffic overlap.
A newly erected main stage replaced the original fixed stage to integrate lighting, audiovisual displays, photography, and performance requirements. Low floral arrangements and floating balloons lined the central aisle to ensure walkaway safety and clear sightlines. Precise spatial calculations and meticulous flow planning ensured that this large-scale ceremony proceeded clearly and on schedule.
The essence of a memorable wedding lies in the flawless execution of every detail. In 2025, 226 couples applied and 102 couples participated. Treating every couple as the guest of honor meant prioritizing their individual needs and resolving issues immediately. Managing communication during early planning and directing massive guest flows on the day of the event presented a major operational challenge, which included providing customized service for pregnant brides.
Furthermore, holding the event inside the New Taipei City Hall auditorium was a venue debut. In past venue evaluations across the city, an administrative hall had never been considered for transformation into an elegant, romantic wedding setting. Operating under strict facility usage rules, meticulous planning ultimately brought a once-in-a-lifetime romantic scene to life.
The event started with guest check-in and zoned seating, followed by performances, couple processional entries, solemnization, vow exchanges, ring exchanges, group photos, and a prize draw. Odd/even numbered circulation control and clear seating layouts guided the smooth movement of the 102 couples and their guests, while individual solemnization moments and couple photos preserved personal memories within a collective program.
The event team guided participants and managed stage-to-AV transitions at key checkpoints to maintain a smooth pace. Following the event, the city government conducted a satisfaction survey and continued to track pregnancies among the couples within their first year of marriage, extending service beyond the ceremony into early family life.
A light blue stage backdrop evokes the early morning light, where the City Hall building, mountain vistas, and the Sanying Line unfold in soft watercolor to depict the city landscape the newlyweds will explore together. The phrase "Cherished Love Forever, Happiness by Your Side" is rendered in romantic, handwritten script, echoing the completeness and longevity symbolized by the pearl-and-crystal necklace.
The eye is drawn along the pink carpet, passing floating clear spheres, metallic accents, and a lush floral arch before reaching the stage. Gold chairs and low floral arrangements flank the aisle, establishing a gentle rhythm within an organized layout. High ceilings cast bright light while floating transparent balloons lift the eye upward, softening the rigid contours of the administrative hall.
As pink, light blue, natural wood, and sunlight reflect off one another, the civic space warms with wedding intimacy. When petals and balloons fall, 100 couples share laughter under the gaze of loved ones. Here, design transcends static imagery into genuine emotion, turning into a lasting, bright memory for all.
Centered on the theme "Cherished Love Forever, Happiness by Your Side," the 2025 New Taipei City Mass Wedding was held on October 19, 2025, in the 6th-floor auditorium of New Taipei City Hall. Planning began late the previous year, spanning roughly 11 months across concept development, visual design, venue transformations, the registration press conference, lottery, couple briefing, and the official ceremony.
A record 226 couples registered, with 102 couples ultimately participating alongside approximately 700 guests. Notably, two couples who met and fell in love through New Taipei City’s matchmaking events joined the mass wedding directly per policy guidelines, bypassing the lottery draw.
The team reconfigured the stage and seating, using floral arches, a pink carpet, floating balloons, and city iconography to create a unified ceremonial space. By incorporating individual solemnization moments into a large-scale event, the project balanced organized crowd management with personal experience. Couple feedback praised the venue decor and solemnization experience. As vows were made within the City Hall auditorium, the project clearly demonstrated that civic happiness begins when a city walks alongside two people as they start a family.
Guided by the concept that "a wedding’s conclusion marks the starting point of happy family policies," the project connects marriage and childbearing initiatives into a sustainable service cycle through pre-event needs gathering, on-site observation, and post-event feedback. On sustainability aspect, the planning phase prioritized paperless digital information. Venue decor utilized reusable artificial florals, significantly reducing single-use printed materials and resource waste to achieve a green wedding standard.
On social support aspect, he project anchored the city's comprehensive marriage-to-childbearing policy framework, integrating matchmaking, mass weddings, childbirth subsidies, maternal transport vouchers, and early education optimizations. At the couple briefing, the mayor announced boosted childbirth subsidies tailored for newlyweds. The city government also tracks pregnancies within the couples' first year of marriage, providing care packages with traditional sticky rice gifts and newborn DIY clothing kits while collecting data for future policy analysis. In 2025, two couples joined the mass wedding without entering the lottery, turning congratulations into tangible civic action.