The Groom’s Godfather André Leon Talley Made This Wedding a Designer Dream

It was technology and the City of Angels that first brought Jonathan E. Geffrard and David Horwitz together in 2017. Jonathan, the founder of a multifaceted consulting company, and David, a sales force developer for Mary Kay, crossed paths in Los Angeles thanks to a successful dating app match. By the time they closed on their first home together in 2019, there was more to their celebratory Champagne toast than a fresh pair of house keys—it would be the first toast of many.

That same day, Jonathan convinced David that there was a rare watch that urgently needed to be viewed for his collection and soon, they were being led to a private room inside Cartier. Jonathan had secretly sourced rings from Paris for each of them, which his contact Francis delivered discreetly upon arrival in time for him to drop to one knee. “David first laughed, then cried, and then said yes!” Jonathan remembers, adding that he’d “also arranged with the store to bring Maison du Chocolat chocolates and David’s favorite hydrangea arrangements” for the occasion, where they toasted again (this time with Cartier Champagne).

Jonathan took over the responsibilities as wedding planner and set about making arrangements for a ceremony in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico. “Truth be told, we were supposed to get married on June 6 of 2020, but we all know how that went,” Jonathan reveals. “So we got married in a very small ceremony of six people and then waited our turn.” With a new date of April 9, 2022, set for a larger celebration, the wisdom of his closest fashion consultant could finally come into play.

Jonathan and his late godfather André Leon Talley talked at length about how to put together a special look for the occasion. ”Since we requested everyone be dressed in black tie, we had to deliver,” says Jonathan, who believes that “dressing well is a form of good manners” and is admittedly “obsessed with Tom Ford.” Leon Talley was able to work his magic as a facilitator of all things fabulous to make dreams come true. “Tom was contacted by André and we went through an entire bespoke experience for the ceremony look—a powder blue honeycomb textured evening jacket, custom Tom Ford tuxedo shirt, and bowties,” says Jonathan, who notes that they completed their ensembles with grey custom J. Hilburn tuxedo pants and Christian Louboutin satin evening slippers.

Wardrobe planning didn’t stop at the ceremony, and bespoke Prada was sourced from Beverly Hills for their reception looks. “We elected for Glen Plaid but each of us in a different color pattern—the fun part of this was that the fabric we chose was not typically allowed to be made into a tuxedo and took special permission from Italy,” says Jonathan. “We matched it with another custom white shirt and bow tie.” Gucci evening shoes for Jonathan and Manolo Blahnik for David were chosen, along with custom Albritton Day penguin lapel pins that Jonathan selected as “a small reminder of our love,” while David requested matching white diamond tuxedo stud sets and white and black diamond cufflinks. Jonathan wore the emerald eternity band (his birthstone) that David chose for the vows at their “small Covid wedding” with a corvette Rolex, while a love bracelet from Cartier would offer David’s symbol of this second ceremony.