Why This Artist Bride Chose a Custom Wiederhoeft Corset and Pants for Her New York City Wedding

Natalie Skinner had a very clear vision of how she wanted to look on her wedding day: She wanted to wear pants, and maybe a touch of purple, too. “I am an artist myself, so when it comes to aesthetics, I am very particular,” Skinner tells Vogue. “I had envisioned a corset and a shirt underneath it and then I wanted to wear pants. That was my big thing: I wanted to wear pants.” But the bride didn’t want the drama to stop at the pants—she wanted something with a special kind of flair. “I really wanted a designer who’s got that extra spark,” Skinner adds. “Who’s going to design something really special that’s outside of what I’m even imagining, or what I can even think of.”

When it came time to begin the hunt for said designer, she found that her bridal designer options dramatically decreased once she added the word “color” to her search. Luckily, after trawling the Vogue weddings archive, Skinner stumbled upon the work of Jackson Wiederhoeft.

“Jackson did a wedding a few years ago of a friend of theirs and it was a big gay wedding. They did every person, there were like 10 people in the wedding, every person in a different color of the rainbow,” Skinner says. “It was just very over the top and Jackson’s style is just so whimsical and so costumey.” Skinner knew instantly he was the designer for her—it was a match made in unconventional bridal heaven. “I only spoke to Jackson, and that was it.”

Despite being drawn to Jackson due to their kaleidoscopic designs, Skinner somehow still ended up in white. She did, however, find her pants. “I was at the studio with a couple of my friends and we were just grabbing things: I had a few ideas of what I wanted to wear but it was just a collaboration between all of us,” she recalls. “Honestly, it was all about the feeling.” With the help of Jackson and her friends, Skinner curated a bridal outfit of three separate Wiederhoeft pieces from three different collections. More specifically, a pair of silk trousers, a high-neck tulle shirt, and the pièce de resistance: the corset.

“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.’”

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.”

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.∏

Even after walking down the aisle, Skinner was determined to give herself, and her guests, one final moment of drama. So, before the dancing commenced, Skinner removed the tulle shirt and changed into purple sneakers. “I did want to have a little sexy moment as well because I was very covered up. It was nice to be able to get my shoulders out. I have pretty broad shoulders that I was always kind of embarrassed by, but now I love them,” Skinner says. “It was a really nice end to the evening where I could be like, I am just going to embrace myself in this outfit. I feel like a queen in this f-ing thing!”