Influencer Nikki Sharp planned her stunning destination wedding in Capri before she was even engaged

Nikki Sharp, an author, podcast host, and model, is used to getting DMs thanks to her 455,000 Instagram followers.

So she didn't expect anything out of the ordinary when she checked her Instagram messages while on a trip with her girlfriends to St. Lucia in November 2020. But a message from Kummert, a hedge fund manager and founder of Calvion Capital, changed everything.

"It was one of those moments I think everyone gets where I was like, 'I really don't wanna date. I'm getting off the apps,'" Sharp told Insider. "'I wanna focus on me. I love my life. I love my friends.' And of course, that's when he showed up."

Sharp, 35, and Kummert, 37, started communicating, and they quickly realized how much they had in common. Sharp lived in Miami at the time while Kummert was based in New York, so their relationship continued virtually.

"We would have just these deliciously long, long conversations," Sharp told Insider of the social-media messages. "We hadn't had a phone call yet. I didn't even know what his voice sounded like."

Three weeks later, they had a two-hour-long phone date, and their connection only continued to grow.

"It was so nice for me because I am an author, I have been on TV, and I'm a former model. I know that people look at me based on my following and based on how I look. So it was really nice to have someone meet me for me," she said of their phone calls.

Sharp anticipated the relationship would be a "fun fling," but that changed when Kummert flew to Nevis Island in the Caribbean for New Year's to meet up with Sharp while she was on a trip with former clients. 

"It was so fun," Sharp said of their time together. "We got to experience a lot very quickly, and we already knew our values were aligned."

They extended their time together by taking a trip to Tulum, Mexico, for New Year's Day, to bond. Sharp recognized that Kummert was anything but a fling.

"I told him about some hardships that I faced in my life," she said. "My life might look perfect from the outside, and it's anything but. I've worked hard to get to where I am."

"As soon as I told him, he just looked at me, and he goes, 'You're home. You're safe now,'" she said. Sharp responded by telling Kummert she loved him. He, of course, said it back.

Less than a month after they declared their love for each other, Sharp said that she and Kummert knew they were going to get married someday. 

They started dreaming of a destination wedding in Italy, and they began a guest list for the celebration.

By March of 2021, they had hired Distinctive Italy Weddings and started planning their wedding in Capri, Italy, for July 2022.

But there had never been an official proposal. 

Sharp hosted a birthday party at Paradise Island in The Bahamas, and Kummert used the occasion to formally ask Sharp to marry him. 

"He planned a private dinner on the beach, and he created the menu for me because he knows what I like," Sharp said. "The guy did well."

She said she knew the proposal was coming, but Sharp was still emotional, falling to the ground when Kummert got down on one knee with a ring.

It felt even more significant for Sharp. Long before the proposal, Sharp had tattooed the word "trust" on her left ring finger. She said she got the tattoo because "I have to trust that the right person at the right time is going to put a ring on it, and I'm going be happy."

Kummert was everything she had been waiting for, she said.

They made sure their wedding guests would enjoy the scenery, especially because they were traveling from all over the world for the nuptials.

"There are so many things for guests to do," Sharp said of their Italian destination. "There's a gondola to the top of the mountain. You can go to a beach club during the day. You can walk in Capri or Anacapri."

"It was important for us that guests explore and go on the boat," she added.

For instance, to kick things off, they scheduled a group hike to Anacapri.

"It goes through the Philosophers Park — the views are just spectacular," Sharp told Insider of serving as tour guides. "It was a way for people to meet and greet and talk with us."

The bride tried on multiple Galia Lahav gowns throughout her engagement, modeling them on her Instagram. 

But she fell in love with The Giovanna, a strapless gown with a full skirt, sheer, corset bodice, and embroidered with stars. That was the gown she would wear for her wedding ceremony.

"I love the sparkle, but it's not your typical sparkle," she said of the dress. "I'd never tried anything on like it."

Sharp felt like the celestial gown also spoke to her spirituality. She even used extra stars from the dress to create a custom headpiece.

"I love meeting our GL brides personally, it is always such a special moment for me," designer Galia Lahav said in a statement provided to Insider. "When I had the pleasure to meet Nikki at our store in Miami, I was so happy to see her in one of my all-time favorite gowns."

Sharp paired the look with an updo, showing off the intricacies of the gown.

Gianni Iavarone was Sharp's hairstylist, while Beauty Livery did the bridesmaids' hair. Carmine D'Angelo was Sharp's makeup artist.

Sharp told Insider that the first look was a moment she looked forward to, particularly because Kummert is "stoic." She was curious about his reaction.

"He is the grounded one of us," Sharp said. "He's the more rational one. He really balances me."

But Kummert got emotional seeing Sharp in her gown.

Sharp and Kummert wed during a 6 p.m. ceremony at the six-star hotel, with the sea behind them.

The space was decorated with white and blue flowers from Flowers In Capri to highlight the venue's natural beauty. 

Sharp carried a bouquet with a photo of Kummert's late mother attached to it, so she was part of the wedding too.

The reception took place at Il Riccio, a Michelin-starred restaurant that's part of Capri Palace, with Sharp and Kummert arriving with a dramatic entrance in the vintage, open-top car.

To give the terrace an even more whimsical feel, the area was decked out with fairy lights and canopies. 

The couple's friend, Baroness Nicola Winspeare Guicciardi, also known as Niki DJ, provided music as the guests arrived at the reception. 

FX-Treme provided music and lights for the wedding.

The couple also had a surprise performance.

The night of their engagement photo shoot with Dream Bella Photography, who documented their wedding too, the couple went to dinner where singer Angel Reckley performed. Sharp told Insider she sounds exactly like Whitney Houston.

"We listened to her, and I told her, 'You're one of the best singers I've ever heard,'" Sharp said.

As she and Kummert planned their wedding, they knew Angel was the perfect person to perform during their reception, including for their first dance.

They also hired Studio d'Essai as their videographers for the wedding.

The newlyweds put their own "spin" on the first dance. Rather than a traditional, choreographed number, the couple actually decided to sing the first part of their song, "Shallow," from the film "A Star is Born."

Angel then took over as the couple stepped onto the dance floor. Sharp's bridesmaids arrived with sparklers at the end of the dance.

Sharp changed into a white Retrofete minidress for the performance. It was covered in intricate, sparkly beading, giving it a 1920s feel that was perfect for dancing.

The couple wanted to be sure they enjoyed the day, so they devised a plan.

They had recently watched "We Crash," which stars Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway. In the show, Leto says "olive juice" to Hathaway but it sounds like "I love you" to her, and it became an inside joke between them on the series. 

Sharp and Kummert decided to do the same thing at the wedding: they would mouth "olive juice" to one another. 

"We'd both take a breath and come back to reality," Sharp said. "It was a fun little thing to keep us in the present moment throughout the wedding."

The couple spent the final day of their wedding eating fresh pasta, swimming, and decompressing with their guests at the beach club. 

Sharp told Insider that the only wedding she has ever attended was as a flower girl as a child.

Because of this, she didn't have a strong reference point for what to plan. Sharp says she felt it was beneficial, as she was able to create the nuptials of her dreams without expectations. 

"I literally planned a wedding based on what I've seen in the movies and what people have told me," she said. 

Sharp is looking forward to continuing to get to know Kummert for the rest of her life.

"We live together, we travel together, and I still miss him when he goes out for the day," Sharp said of her love for Kummert. "When we're in a crunchy moment, we're able to talk and work through it. When we're laying in bed, we always have something to say to one another. There's always a discovery of the other person."