The Bride Designed Her Own Dress for Her “Wedding in the Clouds” on an Italian Island
Creative consultant and stylist Jamie Hunter and her husband Eric Sheehan were, in a way, set up by her boss. The two met when Elizabeth von der Goltz, Jamie’s former supervisor at Bergdorf Goodman, introduced her to her husband’s friend at a dinner party in New York City. The following Tuesday, the man Jamie met at the party asked her to join him and some of his friends for drinks at Crow’s Nest in Montauk. Eric Sheehan, the cofounder of the surf brand Ola Canvas, just so happened to be a part of that group, and the two quickly connected over the fact that they’d both recently left their corporate jobs. They liked each other so much upon that initial meeting that the next day they met for breakfast and a walk on the beach. The two were living in different states at the time though, so it wasn’t until the following spring—when Eric moved back to New York from California—that they reconnected and became serious.
Almost two years later, in March 2020, Eric planned to surprise Jamie with a proposal in Paris while she was working there during Fashion Week, but her work trip was canceled due to the pandemic. Eric quickly pivoted and put together an impromptu, yet heartfelt proposal at home in New York—and on March 8, 2020, just four days before the official start of nationwide lockdown, Eric surprised Jamie by asking her to marry him in Central Park. Drinks with their best friends followed at Bar Beau in Williamsburg.
Jamie, who has deep connections to her Italian roots, always knew she wanted to get married in Italy, and when the two visited the Mezzatorre Hotel on the island of Ischia while on vacation during their courtship, she had a feeling that was where they would eventually wed. “Even though we had to make many changes to our wedding due to the pandemic, we never wavered on having it at Mezzatore,” Jamie remembers. After pivoting plans multiple times, they eventually set a date of July 17, 2021—and thankfully, it stuck.
“We definitely felt a lot of pressure to do what it seemed like everyone else was doing and have a Zoom wedding or a small legal ceremony and save the larger celebration for later,” Jamie says. “But Eric especially held fast and strong to doing it the way that we had always hoped for. In fact, it was so important to us that we not already be married before the day that we flew to Italy a month before the wedding date and went through hours of Italian legislation at the Consulate in Rome and the town hall in Ischia to ensure that we would be married legally and religiously on our final July 17 date.”
From the very beginning of the planning process, the goal was always curating a wedding weekend that immersed guests in the couple’s favorite places and things to do on the island. “Working with local vendors, restaurants, and of course, Mezzatore, we devised a multi-day celebration where friends and family could finally safely be together on an international mini holiday,” Jamie explains.
Throughout the planning process, Jamie and Eric were also lucky enough to work with close friends who were instrumental in executing their vision. One of Jamie’s maids of honor—close friend Gabrielle Katz—is a fashion publicist and the founder of Accent PR_ojects. The bride trusted her with working out any kinks when it came to wedding logistics. “Because the wedding date had been so touch and go due to the pandemic, a lot was thrown together while in Italy just days before,” Jamie admits. “For instance, Gabrielle took care of the seating charts. Friends like Kelsie did place cards, Claire did menus, our mothers put together the gift bags, Devin steamed my dress, and Sara came to the rescue when we realized no one had thought about music for Friday night. It really took a village, and we are so thankful to everyone.” (Florals were done by Jamie’s friend Kelsie Hayes of Popup Florist.)
Jamie also credits the staff at Mezzatorre, including Salvatore Piro and Massimo Messina, for the success of the weekend. “Through their exceptional attention to every detail and their paramount dedication, they eventually became more like guests themselves,” Jamie notes. “The ability to be surrounded by the magic of Mezzatorre for the first time anyone had been outside of the states for over a year was amplified by the team’s spirit and made the entire week even more memorable.”
To get the proverbial party started, Jamie and Eric tapped their friend Roberto Guarracino, who owns Ischia Charter Boat, to plan a boat day for family and the bridal party to kick off the wedding weekend on Thursday. That morning, five boats picked up guests from Mezzatorre’s private bay and took them around Ischia and to the nearby island of Procida, stopping for swimming along the way. Ultimately, they ended up at a long luncheon at the seaside restaurant Giardino Eden. For this first excursion, the bride wore a printed Etro bikini and a matching long wrap skirt before changing into custom Rosie Assoulin faille wrap shorts and a daisy applique bra top for lunch. Later that night, for welcome drinks, the bride switched into a sheer nude tulle Khaite dress with red Simone Rocha earrings.
On Friday night, the couple hosted a seated dinner that called for ’60s la dolce vita attire. Jamie wore her favorite daisy gown from Rosie Assoulin’s fall 2020 collection. “It took over a week to apply all of the silk daises on the skirt of the gown,” she says. “I did a high bun and ’60s winged eyeliner to finish off the look.”
The evening happened to be an unusually stormy one, which meant the Mezzatorre team had to act quickly, pulling up sun umbrellas to shield the guests from the storm. “It was unexpected, but truly enchanting,” Jamie says. “The long, winding, lemon-scattered table was set down low on the dock. Storm waves were crashing and rain was pouring all around, but guests were in their own little fairy light-lit world. Warm and dry under the sun umbrellas with music echoing through the cliffs and speeches given by all who felt compelled.”
