The morning before her wedding, the model Josephine Skriver held the kind of brunch that sends the thumbs her 7.5 million Instagram followers tapping. Wicker abounded. White umbrellas trembled in the breeze. Fresh-cracked coconuts were draped with sliced citrus. Menus advertised of not one but two varieties of millennial-inflected toast: almond butter and avocado.
Almost 150 people had flown to Cabo San Lucas in April 2022 to watch Skriver and singer-songwriter Alexander DeLeon (better known as Bohnes to his quarter-million Instagram followers) tie the knot. Skriver hoped to give her loved ones a shot of relaxation at a reasonable price. "You want it to be grand, she says, describing her wedding planning mindset. But costs add up. "You don't want to blow the craziest amount."
The spread at the Flora Farms restaurant delighted Keltie Knight, the Canadian TV correspondent, who cut a quick video for TikTok to show it off. She tagged Skriver in the caption and then thanked her host, too with a mention and a hashtag. Not that it could have taken Knight much time to deduce to whom she owed her gratitude. The host's name was plastered all over the festivities. It wasn't Skriver or DeLeon or their parents or their pals. To celebrate the bride and groom, skincare brand Sunday Riley had stepped in to pick up the tab. It had the iron-branded coconuts to prove it.
If you've recently noticed an increase in wedding photos on social media tagged with brand names instead of just cutesy portmanteau hashtags, you're not alone. The practice of bold-faced names collaborating with fashion designers, luxury hotels, liquor brands, and the like to sponsor their nuptials has become as common as honeymoons in the Maldives. But what are couples giving up in order to have their champagne toasts or bridesmaids' dresses underwritten, and how does it square with the gravity of till death do us part?
This story is from the September 2022 edition of Town & Country US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the September 2022 edition of Town & Country US.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
For Your Eyes Only
A small wedding has many charms. Here's the proof
Anatomy of a Classic
Ballet flats have been around since medieval times. They still know how to have fun.
It's the Capital Gains Tax, Stupid
In the battle for billionaire political donations, the presidential election finally turned Silicon Valley into Wall Street without the monocle.
I'll Have What She's Wearing
Refined neutrals, face-framing turtlenecks, a white coat that says: I've got 30 more. Twenty-five years on, Rene Russo's Thomas Crown Affair wardrobe remains the blueprint for grown-up glamour.
Isn't That RICH?
If fragrance is invisible jewelry, how do you smell as if you're wearing diamonds, not cubic zirconia?
THE MACKENZIE EFFECT
A $36 billion fortune made MacKenzie Scott one of the richest women in the world. How shes giving it away makes her fascinating.
Her Roman Empire
Seventeen floors up, across from the Vegas behemoth that bears her name, Elaine Wynn is charting a major cultural future for America's casino capital, and she's doing it from a Michael Smith-designed oasis in the middle of the neon desert.
Are You There, God? I'm at Harvard
Why on earth are a bunch of successful midcareer professionals quitting their jobs and applying to Harvard Divinity School? Hint: It has nothing to do with heaven.
Bryan Stevenson
He has dedicated his life to defending the unfairly incarcerated and condemned. But his vision for racial justice has always been about more than winning in court.
Emma Heming Willis
Once best known as a model and entrepreneur, today shes an advocate for patients and caretakers dealing with an incurable disease—one that hits very close to home. Here, she speaks with Katie Couric about her mission.
