On Saturday, they wed at Casa Privata under a chuppah overlooking the Tyrrhenian sea. Cliff, who began his career at Tom Ford, always knew they’d wear the American designer’s tuxedos at their wedding. They chose jackets in matching shades of ivory, with each embroidering their initials and wedding date on the inside tags.
Wanting to reflect their respective Jewish and Catholic religions, they held a mixed faith ceremony: Cliff’s sister, Kerry, read the traditional Jewish seven blessings while wearing Alexander McQueen, whereas Leszek’s brother recited a passage from Corinthians. Their friend Jonathan Adler served as an officiant, while the grooms wrote their own vows and gave each other platinum Repossi bands. They then broke a glass to the loud cries of “mazel tov.”
“The ceremony felt perfect,” Leszek says. “I could feel the love from Cliff and from our friends and family. I would have loved for it to be a few degrees cooler, but what can you do!”
Cocktail hour and the reception were held on Casa Privata’s idyllic terrace. Guests, dressed for their “Amalfi chic” dress code, indulged in Mediterranean libations. “It wouldn’t be a wedding in Italy without *aperitivo—*and plenty of Aperol,” jokes Leszek.
The party got started with a raucous Horah on the dance floor— “Our friends may have been slightly too enthusiastic with the lifting as we felt we had to hang on very tightly,” Cliff says—and never stopped. Then, Leszek’s parents, as a nod to their Polish heritage, showered the grooms with bread, salt, and vodka shots. They threw glasses upon glasses over their shoulders. “The more broken fragments, the happier the marriage will be—but we didn’t count them!” he laughs. As the dancing went on and on, chefs brought out a gelato cart, a millefoglie cake, and, come midnight, pizza. The grooms changed into sequined Tom Ford tops for their after-party looks just as a dazzling fireworks show began.
Despite the late evening before, everyone managed to wake up in time for a farewell brunch. The grooms wore Bode shirts while saying goodbye to their guests—although many ended up staying to spend that afternoon swimming in the azure waters. “It’s completely cliched but it was truly the best weekend of our lives,” Cliff says, reflecting on it all. “Having so many of our friends and family together for 3 full days is something I don’t think we will ever get to experience again.”