“It was Jackson who at the end of the appointment said, ‘Oh, our new collection came out two days ago so I’ve got this new thing.’ It was the corset with the skirt,” she recalls. “We just put that on top of what I already had on. All my friends saw it and were just like, ‘We are done. You have to get that.’”
Photo: Mo Davis
Once the day finally arrived, the drama of Skinner’s wedding extended beyond just her outfit. She and her now husband, Jeffrey De Flavio, wed in an industrial building in Red Hook, Brooklyn right on the water. The couple read their vows overlooking the Manhattan skyline, with the sun setting just as they said “I do.”
Once inside, the newlyweds had their first dance to Robyn’s “Ever Again”—and remained on the dance floor for the rest of the night, as the 11-person band kept the party going. “I was asked twice if we had hired professional dancers to spice up the dance floor—referring to two of my hot friends who were having the time of their lives,” Skinner laughs. The couple let the bones of the venue speak for itself, opting for minimal decor that not only allowed for ample dancing room, but ensured everyone’s outfits could really pop. “The dress complimented the space because of how much it could stand out against a background like that,” explains Skinner. “The exaggerated drama of the outfit was enhanced by that big open space.”
Photo: Mo Davis
Photo: Mo Davis
Skinner wasn’t afraid of taking any risks when it came to her wedding look—in fact, she was afraid of not taking enough. “My aunt said to me, ‘Your wedding day is a day to look like yourself, but to look like yourself like you have never looked before.’ I thought that that was really beautiful.”
It was a philosophy that extended to her hair and makeup for the day, too. “I feel like a lot of brides go for the natural beauty look which is great, but I sort of felt like I wanted to not look like myself.” Inspired by her aunt’s advice, Skinner opted for a dark smokey eye and 1920s finger waves in her hair. “I had to like talk to my makeup artist into it, as she really wanted to do it light. The hairstylist was like, ‘Hell yeah, let’s get that gel out!’ She gelled me to the high heavens.∏