A Dream Wedding for Jeff Bezos in Venice? No Way, Locals Say
If a bunch of irate Venetians have their way, the star-studded dream wedding that Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder, and his fiancée, Lauren Sánchez, are planning in the ancient city at the end of June could be a nightmare.
On Friday evening, representatives of various citizens groups gathered in a square near Rialto Bridge and vowed to organize a series of protests on June 26, 27 and 28, when hundreds of guests are expected to descend on the lagoon city for the lavish nuptials of Mr. Bezos and Ms. Sánchez, a journalist.
Though details of the festivities have been wrapped in secrecy, 'we have our moles,' said Federica Toninello, a protest organizer, revealing that one of the venues could be the The Misericordia, a former charity turned events hall. 'Bezos will never get to the Misericordia,' she vowed, urging the roughly 300 people present to take a stand. 'We will line the streets with our bodies, block the canals with lifesavers, dinghies and our boats,' she said to loud applause.
She spoke under a large banner that read: 'No Space [an image of a spaceship] For Bezos,' playing on his ownership of Blue Origin, the spaceflight venture. 'We have to block Bezos, we have to block this idea of this city' as a tourist haven that has driven up housing costs so that most ordinary Venetians can no longer afford to live here, she said.
Representatives for Mr. Bezos and Ms. Sánchez did not respond to a request for comment.
Their wedding coincides with peak season in Venice, as tens of thousands of visitors arrive in the city daily, prompting City Hall to impose a controversial entry fee on weekends and holidays. Protesters said they were also concerned that the logistics of the wedding, including security for some top-tier guests, will further disrupt the life of Venice's dwindling resident population.
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A dream wedding for Jeff Bezos in Venice? No way, locals say.
She spoke under a large banner that read, 'No Space [an image of a spaceship] for Bezos,' playing on his ownership of Blue Origin, a spaceflight venture. 'We have to block Bezos; we have to block this idea of this city' as a tourist haven that has driven up housing costs so that most ordinary Venetians can no longer afford to live here, she said. Advertisement Representatives for Bezos and Sánchez did not respond to a request for comment. Their wedding coincides with peak season in Venice, as tens of thousands of visitors arrive in the city daily, prompting City Hall to impose a controversial entry fee on weekends and holidays. Protesters said they were also concerned that the logistics of the wedding, including security for some top-tier guests, will further disrupt the life of Venice's dwindling resident population. Advertisement The guest list is not public, but Vogue reported that it could include Katy Perry, some of the Kardashians and Eva Longoria, all friends of the bride-to-be. And TMZ reported that Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King had been invited. Reported estimates of what the wedding might cost have been as high as $21.5 million. Part of that cost involves taking a fleet of water taxis out of circulation. One taxi driver who will be involved in transporting guests for the wedding said he had been booked to be on call June 25-30. City hall officials said that only 30 of the city's 280 water taxis had been booked, and that since Venice was accustomed to hosting major events, citizens would not be inconvenienced. More than 600 couples marry each year in Venice, 'recognized as a city of love on an international level,' and this was just one wedding more, the statement said. Some Venetians think it's one wedding too many. On Thursday, activists unfurled a large banner with a bold red X over Bezos' name from the steeple of the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore, on an island that will be another of the Bezos-Sánchez wedding venues. 'Let's make sure that Venice is not remembered as a postcard venue where Bezos had his wedding, but as the city that did not bend to oligarchs,' said Na Haby Stella Faye, another protester. 'We have a chance to disrupt a $10 million wedding; let's do it.' Advertisement This article originally appeared in
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VENICE, Italy -- Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez have invited celebrity friends like fellow space traveler Katy Perry, Oprah Winfrey, Mick Jagger and Ivanka Trump for their Venice nuptials later this month, but the couple hopes to put a spotlight on Venice's traditions during the celebrations. They are sourcing some 80% of their wedding provisions from Venetian vendors, according to people close to the couple, as a way to share their appreciation for the romantic lagoon city. The wedding will take place over three days in late June, with events kept private. Two historic Venetian companies will add artisanal touches to the celebration: Rosa Salva, the city's oldest pastry maker that has been crafting donut-shaped fishermen's biscuits since 1876, and Laguna B, a design studio known for its distinctive handblown Murano glass prized by fashion and design clients. Antonio Rosa Salva, the 6th generation in his family to run the business, said the wedding order of a selection of surprises for goody bags was important recognition of his family's long tradition of baking Venetian specialties dating back 150 years. They include the bussola buttery biscuit that was long a fisherman's staple, and small zaletti cookies, made from the Veneto region's corn meal, flavored with raisins and lemon zest. 'We try to maintain the old recipes,'' said Rosa Salva, whose family business includes a catering service and four locations in Venice's historic center and one on the mainland. 'We do everything with love. It's a pleasure and a privilege.'' Rosa Salva, whose business regularly caters large events for 1,000 or more people in Venice, is perplexed by posters that have gone up around the historic center protesting the use of the city as a venue for the Bezos-Sanchez wedding. 'Events like this bring quality tourism to Venice,'' he said. 'I don't see how an event with 200 people can create disruptions. It's responsible tourism. It's prestigious that a couple like this, who can go anywhere in the world, are getting married in the city.' Laguna B was founded by Marie Brandolini, who became known as the glass countess, in 1994, and the company is now being guided by her son, Marcantonio, from the family's palazzo overlooking the Grand Canal. The younger Brandolini said his vision is to restore the Venetian tradition of running creative enterprises out of Venice's grand palazzi, which historically dedicated the ground floor to work spaces for the merchant nobility. His is a good example. The company employs 14 people under 30 out of offices in the back garden and a boutique in an adjacent alleyway, in a sector, he underlines, 'not related to tourism.'' His upstairs neighbors are Diane von Furstenberg and Barry Diller – close friends of Bezos and Sanchez, but he doesn't think that is why the wedding planner singled out his company, which is well known among a small network of collectors. Laguna B won't disclose what his master glassblowers on Murano have created for the wedding, but the company is known for distinctive glassware that at times feature an undulating lip – no two alike. 'I hope they like what we did for them,'' Brandolini said. 'For us, it's a great opportunity, it gives extra support for our growth.'' While the business thrives on such important orders, Brandolini said he is equally gratified by young, discerning customers who seek out the shop because they admire the company's commitment to community building, reviving Venice's artisanal heritage and projects to help protect the fragile lagoon. They might buy just a single drinking glass. His is a message of inclusivity, which he also applies to the Bezos-Sanchez choice of wedding venue. 'The world is for everybody. Whoever wants to do something, should be able to do it, following the law.' Unsurprisingly in a city whose future is fiercely debated at every turn, the wedding has attracted the attention of protesters, who on Thursday hung a banner on St. Mark's bell tower with Bezos crossed out. They cite the risk of disruptions in a city so overrun with mass tourism that officials are for a second year requiring day-trippers to pay a tax to enter on key summer days. City officials have pledged that services will function normally during the wedding, and issued a denial in late March to reports that the wedding organizers had booked half the city's water taxis and blocked out rooms at luxury hotels. 'We are very proud,'' Mayor Luigi Brugnaro told The Associated Press this week in St. Mark's Square, saying he hoped he would get the chance to meet Bezos. 'I don't know if I will have time, or if he will, to meet and shake hands, but it's an honor that they chose Venice. Venice once again reveals itself to be a global stage.''
