Creepy mannequins of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez seen in Venetian gondola
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Creepy mannequins of Jeff Bezos and fianceé Lauren Sanchez were spotted gliding on a gondola through Venice ahead of the billionaire's wedding in the city.
The two six-foot mannequins were seen floating down the famous Grand Canal in a stunt protesting the lavish marriage ceremony planned by the Amazon boss.
The third richest man in the world is due to tie the knot with television journalist and author Lauren Sanchez in the city of romance on Tuesday.
But protestors have vowed to disrupt the event which reportedly cost upwards of $15million to organise.
They launched the stunt in protest at perceived over-tourism in the city and the 'absurd wealth theatre' on display.
The bizarre dolls were dressed up in wedding attire as they were guided down the Grand Canal by a black and white-stripped gondolier.
Behind the eye-catching event is an anonymous protest group called Konn Artiss, who paraded another Bezos mannequin in the heart of the Vatican hours earlier.
A golden Bezos, dressed in dollar bills, was placed in St Mark's Square by the group.
The statue, surrounded in bird feed, was swamped by pigeons before being carted off by the police.
The group say their attention-seeking events are protesting the 'global spectacle of luxury' of the wedding.
They told Metro: 'Venice is sinking year on year, yet the richest man on earth is celebrating like a Roman emperor.
'This is a city where the working class are working hard and cannot pay their bills.
'We are not protesting love, we are protesting luxury without accountability. It is a spectacle of excess when we live in a time when the gap between the richest and poorest is getting bigger.
'The power the working class have is seemingly diminishing.'
The anonymous 'merry band' say they are planning something else in Venice to coincide with the wedding.
Konn's stunts followed a protest by the charity Greenpeace on Monday in the square.
They unfurled a banner, which read: 'If you can rent Venice for your wedding, you can pay more tax' in thick capital letters.
Other activists have come together under the slogan 'No Space for Bezos' – a twist on the Amazon founder's space exploration project called Blue Origin.
They say the wedding comes at the expense of locals, who are facing a housing shortage and the closure of basic services.
But some locals are welcoming the wedding celebrations, as are Italian and Venetian officials.
They have adopted the slogan 'Yes Venice Can' and mainly consist of Venetian hoteliers, restaurateurs and business owners.
In a statement, the group said: 'We cannot allow a noisy minority to discredit the image of this city in the eyes of the world.
'We will put on the very best welcome for Bezos, as we always do for those who choose Venice as a holiday destination or as a backdrop to big events.
'Venice is a city that welcomes people – it doesn't turn them away.' More Trending
The Bezos-Sanchez nupitals began lavishly with a foam party on board Bezos's £371 million superyacht.
The three-masted ship, named the Koru, will arrive in Venice this week as guests fly in on private jets for the ceremony.
Rumoured to be among the guests are Kylie Jenner and Oprah Winfrey, as well as Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
Lady Gaga and Elton John are also reportedly attending.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Inside the luxurious Venetian hotel booked out for Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's wedding - and the VIP guests that will be treated to its £10,000-a-night suites
A short walk from Venice's main piazza, on the murky edge of the Grand Canal, stands one of the city's most luxurious hotels: the Aman Venice. With its Baroque frescos from celebrated painter Giambattista Tiepolo, restaurant offering delicious bowls of lobster-stuffed casoncelli, and a private jetty entrance to shield guests from prying eyes, it's little wonder that the 16th-century palazzo has become something of a haven for the city's super-rich. So what better accommodation for many of the wedding guests of the world's fourth-wealthiest man, Jeff Bezos, and his bride-to-be, former TV journalist Lauren Sanchez? Eleven years after Hollywood star George Clooney married human rights lawyer Amal at the five-star hotel, the stars are aligning once again at the Aman for the wedding of the year. Around 200 A-list guests are expected to arrive in Italy for Bezos's nuptials this week – including members of the Kardashian family, TV mogul Oprah Winfrey, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and 'First Daughter' Ivanka Trump. And a lucky 48 of them will be staying in the 24 rooms at the Aman, which former Amazon CEO Bezos has booked out for three nights from Wednesday, and where suites cost as much as £10,000 a night. 'It's the only place in the city luxurious enough for some of the guests this week. Anything they want, they'll be able to get,' a source tells me. 'With most weddings, the Aman can only be hired out for one or two nights. But the more money you have, the more nights and access you can get.' Indeed, while the wedding itself will take place on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, it is understood that Bezos and Sanchez will also host various reception parties and events for their guests at the Aman. This is set to include an evening 'concert' by Grammy Award-winning singer Lady Gaga, who will perform for guests on the hotel's grand piano said to have been played by 19th-century composer Frederic Chopin. Guests can also enjoy in-house pastry chefs, wine connoisseurs and join their own private chefs on 'market strolls' to pick their produce. Should they choose to join the 'masses' at one of the hotel's three dining rooms, they can enjoy bowls of pasta from £34, cocktails from £24, and even a bottle of Bezos's favourite wine, Dugat-Py Grand Cru, which he famously once bought for £3,000 in Cannes. It also boasts a library with views across the canal, a roof terrace and one of the only private gardens in the city. And, for any guests looking to unwind, there is a spa offering 'thermal anti-ageing' treatments as well as the hotel's own skincare range. Not that relaxation is what guests at the Aman often come looking for. 'Live opera string quartets have played at weddings at the Aman,' a source tells me. 'When hired completely out, 200 guests can fit across the venue for events and gatherings. One of the rooms has been transformed into a nightclub before.' Based in the 450-year-old Palazzo Papadopoli, the hotel building has been the home of the aristocratic Papadopoli family for 200 years. Though the family has offered part of the building to the Aman hotel group, they still live on the top floor of the palazzo in the penthouse suite. While they are usually there for most of the year, this week they have vacated their home to go on a family holiday. It means the penthouse residence will be available to the newlyweds – or whichever guest they might choose. Since it opened in 2013, the hotel has been dubbed the best in Italy. So it was little surprise that George and Amal Clooney, who met in Italy that year and have a house in Lake Como, decided to say 'I do' there. Around 100 of the couple's nearest and dearest arrived for the wedding weekend in September 2014 and the three-day celebration was jam-packed with cocktails, dinner and dancing. Guests including Vogue editor Dame Anna Wintour, Oscar-winner Matt Damon, and supermodel Cindy Crawford arrived at the Aman for the ceremony, which was officiated by the former mayor of Rome, Walter Veltroni. This was followed by a five-course meal and the cutting of the four-tiered art deco cake. The party lasted well into the next morning with more than 250 bottles of Champagne and 100 cases of Clooney's own Casamigos brand tequila to fuel the revelry. Bezos, 61, and Sanchez, 55, may at least be fuelled by a more local business: the Rosa Salva dessert shop in the heart of Venice. Delicacies including lemon-flavoured bussola biscuits and cornmeal Zaletti cookies will be given out in gift bags from the city's oldest bakery, which was established in 1879. Quite what else the couple have planned has remained a little more of a mystery – even if the drama surrounding their nuptials has not. Kris Jenner, Kim Kardashian and former Desperate Housewives actress Eva Longoria all attended Sanchez's 'bachelorette' trip to Paris in May and are set to attend the nuptials. However it is not confirmed whether singer Katy Perry – one of Sanchez's close friends who joined her on her 'Blue Origin' trip into space in April – and her husband Orlando Bloom will be there amid rumoured tensions between the couple. The wedding, which is thought to cost up to £10million, has upset locals and there have been several demonstrations with protesters holding signs that read 'No Space for Bezos'. Whether such protests will ever register with guests within the lavish walls of the Aman is anyone's guess.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Lauren Sanchez's wedding look revealed: Bride-to-be's glam squad includes Dolce & Gabbana exec, drag queen tailor and make-up artist who specialises in the 'babydoll style
An innocuous-seeming paparazzi photograph may have inadvertently revealed details about Lauren Sanchez 's fiercely-guarded bridal look, as the former journalist prepares to say 'I do' to Jeff Bezos this week. A tour guide hired to welcome guests as they arrived in Venice for the $20 million wedding of the Amazon founder Bezos, 61, and Lauren, 55, was snapped holding a clipboard of names. Prominent among Beatrice Bavato's list - that included names, flight numbers, and hotel destinations - were members of Lauren's 'glam squad'. This included the hair and make-up staff of Buster Knight as well as Laura Mele and Sophie Gutterman, both of whom styled Lauren before her recent space trip. A look back at their work for Lauren - who has recruited the trio for everything from red carpet appearances to award ceremonies and fashion shows - reveals the Emmy-winner never strays too far from her signature look: a flawless complexion and smokey eye, with loose waves framing her face. And it appears they'll be recreating Lauren's show-stopping glam for the wedding of the decade - set to be attended by tech moguls, Hollywood stars, and politicians. A curveball addition to her team appears to be Mindy L'amour, a California-based fashion stylist who works with drag queens and specialises in corsets. Given Lauren has worn the form-fitting garment on several occasions, including her recent bachelorette party, Mindy may be on hand to style a custom corset for the not-so-blushing bride-to-be. But the most intriguing of the ancillary guests is Samuel Horowitz, a sales executive at Dolce & Gabbana. Could the young Milan-based associate's presence be confirmation that Lauren has opted to wear one of their creations for her wedding ceremony? As the list also suggested the bride's first-choice nail artist was a 'no show', here's everything we know about Lauren's wedding look - and the A-team she's put together to bring it to life: Laura Mele, Lauren's trusted makeup artist Laura Ann Mele has been part of Lauren's glam squad since at least November 2023, when the former newscaster first appeared on the New York-based bridal makeup artist's Instagram page. At the time, Laura dolled her up for Glamour magazine's Women of the Year awards, when Lauren opted for a soft, sultry look that enhanced her features without being overbearing. Laura, who arrived in Venice on June 24, has recreated this 'babydoll' glam look on the future wife of Jeff Bezos multiple times - including for her 53rd birthday party, multiple award ceremonies, and Lauren's debut Met Gala appearance in 2024 - since then. Most recently, Laura did Lauren's makeup before she shot off into space with Katy Perry, broadcast journalist Gayle King, ex-NASA scientist Aisha Bowe, bioastronautics research scientist Amanda Nguyen, and film producer Kerriane Flynne on Bezos' space tourism rocket Blue Origin. And it's no surprise, since Lauren's go-to makeup look is the embodiment of Laura's specialty. According to her website, Laura - whose roster of high-profile clients includes Kim Kardashian and Emily Ratakajowski - is particularly skilled at creating customised looks that 'enhance your natural beauty'. After years of practice - and just in time for what is shaping up to be Laura's most important wedding yet - it seems likely she will give Lauren an elevated, luxe version of her signature 'babydoll' style - with a light nude lip and a hint of gloss, a black smokey eye, feathery lashes, and a hint of pale pink blush. It appears the Albuquerque native, soon to become Mrs Bezos, has assembled a bridal glam squad full of heavyweights - including A-list celebrity makeup artist Buster Knight. The London-based creative documented his flight out of the United Kingdom on Instagram ealier this morning before the leaked spreadsheet confirmed Buster's arrival in Italy around lunchtime. In the past, he has recreated Lauren's trademark makeup look for several high-profile appearances - including at the Cannes Film Festival in May and the Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda show in Sardinia last July. While breaking down her look for the design house's fall/winter show at Milan Fashion Week last January, Buster shared he used Hourglass Cosmetics' lipstick in the shade 'Dove 306' as well as a Kylie Cosmetics mascara over fake lashes from UK-based brand Eyelure to achieve Lauren's look. Buster - whose superstar clients include Kris Jenner, Simone Ashley, and Priyanka Chopra Jonas - previously also revealed the exact product list he uses to achieve Lauren's 'peaches and cream' complexion. According to The Telegraph, Lauren's go-to is Armani Beauty's Luminous Silk Foundation and Concealer that retail for £47 and £30 respectively. Sophie Rose, Lauren's hairstylist The woman behind Lauren's big, bouncy hair that falls in perfect waves - whether she's on ground or shuttling through space in a rocket - is Sophie Rose. As a long-standing member of Lauren's glam squad, it was no surprise to see the California native's name on the leaked spreadsheet of guests arriving in Venice ahead of what is expected to be one of the most lavish weddings in recent times. Lauren appears consistently on Sophie's Instagram portfolio, including in March when the celebrity hairdresser shared a picture of Lauren's 'bridal' look for the Vanity Fair's Oscars party that she attended with her beau Bezos. For the occasion, the ex-journalist picked a formfitting, strapless white gown, complete with a feathered hem and train, that screamed 'bride-to-be'. Her waist-length locks were, unsurprisingly, styled in glamorous waves - a style Sophie might reinvent for the wedding. Mindy L'amour, fashion stylist Perhaps the most surprising name on the spreadsheet is Mindy L'amour, a Californian stylist who dresses drag queens and specialises in bespoke corsets - a garment Lauren has a well-documented fondness for. In fact, they're a key part of her revamped look as the future Mrs Bezos in the years after she first met and fell in love with the Amazon tycoon. Lauren has styled corsets for a number of VIP events, including US President Trump's inauguration in January when she wore a plunging white lace design under her Alexander McQueen pantsuit. She later brushed away the criticism her risque outfit was 'inappropriate' for the event, as a source close to Lauren reportedly told Page Six: 'She does what she wants.' Considering Lauren also picked a plunging white corset for her star-studded bachelorette party in Paris, which was attended by Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner, and Eva Longoria, it might be that Mindy has been recruited to style the garment for one of her bridal looks. The stylist shared a video of herself enjoying a water taxi ride upon arrival in Venice earlier today, but did not caption the short clip. Samuel Horowitz, Dolce & Gabbana executive One of the most exciting names on the list is Sam Horowitz, whose LinkedIn revealed he works as a full-time sales executive at Dolce & Gabbana. Could his presence be confirmation that Lauren has decided to wear D&G on her big day? Certainly this wouldn't be a huge surprise as the mother-of-three is known to be a fan of the Italian label - not least since they gave nepo baby modelling work to her 24-year-old son Nikko last year. It comes after Lauren and Jeff were spotted at D&G's iconic store in Milan for what appeared to be a dress-fitting in March. As they left the shop, the couple were followed by an employee carrying white garment bags that may have contained their wedding outfits. In 2022, Kourtney Kardashian donned a lace and satin corseted mini-dress by the designer to marry Travis Barker in Portofino. Elsewhere, Dolce last year spoke about curating Princess Diana's niece Lady Kitty Spencer's 2021 bridal gown; and the importance of incorporating a love for the regal feel of the Italian designer into an individual's frock. 'One of the inspirations is definitely her love for Italy. Kitty is in love with our beautiful country and its rich history, art and culture,' Domenico Dolce told Tatler.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Ivanka Trump and family board boat ahead of Jeff Bezos wedding
Ivanka Trump, her husband Jared Kushner, and their three children arrived in Venice on Tuesday. They were seen boarding a water taxi, heading to Jeff Bezos ' lavish multi-day wedding to Lauren Sanchez. The event is rumored to host 200 guests and has drawn protests from groups like Greenpeace and No Space for Bezos. These groups have unfurled banners across the city to object to the Amazon CEO's extravagant affair. Watch the video in full above.
