Inside Bezos and Sanchez's multimillion-dollar wedding: Venice venues, VIP guests and star power
VENICE, June 28 — Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez invited scores of VIPs from film, finance and showbusiness to Venice this week for three days of wedding celebrations.
Here are some facts and figures about what has been dubbed the 'Wedding of the Century'.
Cost of the wedding
The wedding celebrations for around 200-250 guests are expected to cost €40 million to €48 million (RM198 million to RM236 million), Luca Zaia, president of the Veneto region, which includes Venice, told reporters on Tuesday.
Italy's tourism ministry said yesterday it carried out a study estimating the overall economic impact of the wedding at €957 million, including an 896 million euro benefit from 'media visibility'.
The rest would come from direct or indirect spending related to the event, such as €28.4 million for hotel and location expenses and €17.6 million for transportation and other service expenses.
Workers unload a barge in front of the Madonna dell'Orto church in Venice on June 25, 2025. Celebrities in superyachts sail into Venice this week for the three-day wedding party of Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez, despite irate locals who say the Unesco city is no billionaire's playground. — AFP pic
Venice wedding venues
Celebrations began on Thursday evening in the cloisters of Madonna dell'Orto, a medieval church in the central district of Cannaregio that hosts masterpieces by 16th century painter Tintoretto.
On Friday, the couple were due to exchange rings on the small island of San Giorgio, opposite St Mark's Square, accompanied by singing from Matteo Bocelli, son of the Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli. The main party is due on Saturday at the Arsenale, a former shipyard where vessels were built for the Venetian Republic's maritime empire. Several media outlets are reporting there will be performances by Lady Gaga and Elton John.
Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner leave the St. Regis hotel, on the second day of the wedding festivities of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez, in Venice June 27, 2025. — Reuters pic
Which celebrities are attending the Bezos wedding?
US President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner were among the first guests to arrive in Venice on Tuesday. They were joined by dozens of other A-listers including Bill Gates, Orlando Bloom, Tom Brady, the queen of Jordan, Oprah Winfrey, Kris Jenner and Kim and Khloe Kardashian as well as Domenico Dolce from Dolce & Gabbana.
Bezos and Sanchez landed in Venice on Wednesday, arriving by helicopter.
Kim Kardashian and Khloe Kardashian leave Gritti Palace Hotel, on the second day of the wedding festivities of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez in Venice, Italy, June 27, 2025. — Reuters pic
Where are the wedding guests staying in Venice?
Five of the city's most luxurious hotels have been booked, including Cipriani on the island of Giudecca, and the St Regis near St Mark's Square. Bezos and Sanchez took up residence at the Aman, where rooms with a view of the Grand Canal go for at least €4,000 per night. The same hotel hosted US actor George Clooney for his 2014 wedding with human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin.
Bezos and Sanchez charity donations
Bezos and Sanchez donated €3 million to three Venetian institutions, with €1 million each going to Corila, an academic consortium that studies the lagoon ecosystem, Unesco's local office, and the Venice International University. — Reuters
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Malay Mail
11 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Inside Bezos and Sanchez's multimillion-dollar wedding: Venice venues, VIP guests and star power
VENICE, June 28 — Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez invited scores of VIPs from film, finance and showbusiness to Venice this week for three days of wedding celebrations. Here are some facts and figures about what has been dubbed the 'Wedding of the Century'. Cost of the wedding The wedding celebrations for around 200-250 guests are expected to cost €40 million to €48 million (RM198 million to RM236 million), Luca Zaia, president of the Veneto region, which includes Venice, told reporters on Tuesday. Italy's tourism ministry said yesterday it carried out a study estimating the overall economic impact of the wedding at €957 million, including an 896 million euro benefit from 'media visibility'. The rest would come from direct or indirect spending related to the event, such as €28.4 million for hotel and location expenses and €17.6 million for transportation and other service expenses. Workers unload a barge in front of the Madonna dell'Orto church in Venice on June 25, 2025. Celebrities in superyachts sail into Venice this week for the three-day wedding party of Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez, despite irate locals who say the Unesco city is no billionaire's playground. — AFP pic Venice wedding venues Celebrations began on Thursday evening in the cloisters of Madonna dell'Orto, a medieval church in the central district of Cannaregio that hosts masterpieces by 16th century painter Tintoretto. On Friday, the couple were due to exchange rings on the small island of San Giorgio, opposite St Mark's Square, accompanied by singing from Matteo Bocelli, son of the Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli. The main party is due on Saturday at the Arsenale, a former shipyard where vessels were built for the Venetian Republic's maritime empire. Several media outlets are reporting there will be performances by Lady Gaga and Elton John. Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner leave the St. Regis hotel, on the second day of the wedding festivities of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez, in Venice June 27, 2025. — Reuters pic Which celebrities are attending the Bezos wedding? US President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner were among the first guests to arrive in Venice on Tuesday. They were joined by dozens of other A-listers including Bill Gates, Orlando Bloom, Tom Brady, the queen of Jordan, Oprah Winfrey, Kris Jenner and Kim and Khloe Kardashian as well as Domenico Dolce from Dolce & Gabbana. Bezos and Sanchez landed in Venice on Wednesday, arriving by helicopter. Kim Kardashian and Khloe Kardashian leave Gritti Palace Hotel, on the second day of the wedding festivities of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez in Venice, Italy, June 27, 2025. — Reuters pic Where are the wedding guests staying in Venice? Five of the city's most luxurious hotels have been booked, including Cipriani on the island of Giudecca, and the St Regis near St Mark's Square. Bezos and Sanchez took up residence at the Aman, where rooms with a view of the Grand Canal go for at least €4,000 per night. The same hotel hosted US actor George Clooney for his 2014 wedding with human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin. Bezos and Sanchez charity donations Bezos and Sanchez donated €3 million to three Venetian institutions, with €1 million each going to Corila, an academic consortium that studies the lagoon ecosystem, Unesco's local office, and the Venice International University. — Reuters
The Star
13 hours ago
- The Star
Newlyweds Bezos and Sanchez gear up for final party at Venice gala
Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos and Media Personality Lauren Sanchez Bezos react on the day of their wedding in Venice, Italy, June 27, 2025 in this picture obtained from social media. @laurensanchezbezos via Instagram/via REUTERS VENICE (Reuters) -Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez, flush from their Venice wedding ceremony on Friday, are gearing up for the final day of partying in the lagoon city with scores of celebrity guests from media, fashion and show business. The three-day gala, estimated to cost some $50 million, will culminate on Saturday evening with the closing party in a former medieval shipyard where Lady Gaga and Elton John are expected to perform. Bezos, 61, and Sanchez, 55, exchanged rings on Friday evening on the small island of San Giorgio, across the water from Saint Mark's Square, accompanied by singing from Matteo Bocelli, son of Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli. The bride at the ceremony wore a high-necked silhouette dress and a tulle and lace veil by Dolce and Gabbana, which she told magazine Vogue was based on Sophia Loren's dress to marry Cary Grant in the 1958 film Houseboat. Sanchez was also wearing a pair of diamond earrings by Dolce & Gabbana, which, according to Vogue, were lent to her in keeping with the tradition that it brings good luck for a bride to wear something borrowed. Bezos, who is No. 4 on Forbes' global billionaires list, donned a black tuxedo and bow tie over a white shirt. The ceremony had no legal status under Italian law, a senior city hall official told Reuters, suggesting the couple may have already legally wed in the United States, avoiding the bureaucracy associated with an Italian marriage. Bill Gates, Leonardo DiCaprio, Orlando Bloom, Tom Brady, Jordan's Queen Rania, Oprah Winfrey, Kris Jenner and Kim and Khloe Kardashian, as well as Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner and Domenico Dolce from Dolce & Gabbana were among the 200-250 guests. PROTEST SCHEDULED While the celebrities rub shoulders in the isolated halls in the east of the city, not far away activists will be protesting at what they see as Venice being gift-wrapped for ultra-rich outsiders. A protest march is planned at 5 p.m. (1500 GMT) on Saturday from the railway station to the Rialto Bridge. For days, members of the "No Space for Bezos" movement have been trying to spoil the party, hanging anti-Bezos banners on the iconic Rialto Bridge and laying out a huge canvas in central Saint Mark's Square telling the tech-tycoon to pay more taxes. While some residents and activists see Bezos's extravaganza as a symbol of inequality and arrogance, Venice's businesses and the city authorities have welcomed the event, claiming a major boost for the local economy. "Those who protest are in contradiction with the history of Venice, which is a history of relations, contacts and business," the city's mayor Luigi Brugnaro told Reuters in an interview. "Bezos embodies the Venetian mentality, he is more Venetian than the protesters," said centre-right mayor, adding that he hoped Bezos, who donated 3 million euros ($3.51 million) to local institutions, would return to the city to do business. Brugnaro said Bezos had attached no conditions to holding his wedding celebrations in Venice, and City Hall had only learned about his donations after they had already been made. Bezos, Amazon's executive chair, got engaged to Sanchez in 2023, four years after the collapse of his 25-year marriage to MacKenzie Scott. ($1 = 0.8552 euros) (Writing by Gavin Jones and Angelo Amante; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
The Star
18 hours ago
- The Star
These are the celebs who are attending Jeff Bezos' Venice wedding
Jeff Bezos (left) and Lauren Sanchez leave a hotel for their pre-wedding reception, in Venice, Italy, Thursday, June 26, 2025. Photo: AP Oprah Winfrey arrived in Venice on Thursday, leading a star-studded guest list of celebrities descending on the lagoon city for the weekendwedding of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez. Winfrey's private jet landed at Venice's Marco Polo airport. Former American footballer Tom Brady arrived soon thereafter. The bride and groom pulled into the Aman Hotel dock on the Grand Canal on Wednesday, traveling via water taxi with security boats in tow. A few hours later they slipped out of the hotel, with Sánchez wearing a sleek black and white striped, one-shoulder gown. Kim Kardashian. Photo: AFP The details of the nuptials have been a tightly kept secret, though the locations now appear to have firmed up as has the guest list. Ivanka Trump, her husband Jared Kushner and their three children arrived Wednesday. Other celebrities on the guest list, according to two people close to the wedding who spoke on condition of anonymity, because they weren't authorised to speak publicly, include: - Kim Kardashian - Mick Jagger - Leonardo DiCaprio - Orlando Bloom - Microsoft founder Bill Gates - Diane von Furstenberg and her husband Barry Diller - Katy Perry had originally been expected but the latest update had her as not attending. Orlando Bloom. Photo: AP The wedding has divided Venice, with some activists protesting it as an exploitation of the city by the billionaire Bezos while ordinary residents suffer from overtourism, high housing costs and the constant threat of climate-induced flooding. One group called Extinction Rebellion staged a small protest in St. Mark's Square on Thursday featuring a masked bride and groom and people holding posters decrying climate change and income inequalities. "The planet is burning but don't worry, here's the list of the 27 dresses of Lauren Sanchez,' read one, a reference to the bride's reported wedding weekend wardrobe. Protesters said that their plans to disrupt the arrivals of guests at one of the wedding venues forced organisers to move the event to the more secure Arsenale area beyond Venice's congested centre. Oprah Winfrey. Photo: Reuters The city administration has strongly defended the nuptials as keeping with Venice's tradition as an open city that has welcomed popes, emperors and ordinary visitors alike for centuries. "We will always respect the right to speak out, but we reject every form of intolerance and prejudice,' Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said in Thursday's edition of Italian newspaper Il Foglio Quotidiano. "No one in Venice can claim the right of deciding who can enter, who can love, who can celebrate.' – AP
