Latest news with #SánchezBezos
The Hill
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Hill
These are the celebs who are attending Jeff Bezos' Venice wedding
VENICE, Italy (AP) — The Venice wedding bonanza of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos reached its third and final day Saturday after the couple tied the knot a day earlier in front of around 200 celebrity guests in a secluded area of the lagoon city. Details of the much-anticipated wedding ceremony Friday night were kept tightly secret, until Sánchez Bezos posted to Instagram a photo of herself beaming in a white gown as she stood alongside a tuxedo-clad Bezos, the world's fourth-richest man. Athletes, celebrities, influencers and business leaders converged to revel in extravagance that was as much a testament to the couple's love as to their extraordinary wealth. A string of water taxis cut through the lagoon to bring Bezos, Sánchez Bezos and their guests to the tiny San Giorgio island, across the lagoon basin from St. Mark's Square, where the couple held their private ceremony. Paparazzi in their own boats followed close behind in a controlled chase, trying to capture the couple and their guests on camera, as police on personal watercraft patrolled a no-go zone. The celebrations are expected to end later Saturday with a large party in a former medieval shipyard, amid high security. Most guests arrived between Thursday and Friday. The star-studded list included names like Oprah Winfrey and NFL great Tom Brady. Here's a look at the who's who of the Bezos-Sánchez Bezos nuptials. The bride and groom are staying at the Aman Venice hotel on the Grand Canal, where the groom posed for photos and the bride blew kisses to the press. Ivanka Trump, her husband Jared Kushner and their three children arrived Wednesday. Other celebrities on the guest list include: — Queen Rania of Jordan arrived in Venice on Thursday for the wedding, but she wasn't accompanied by her spouse, King Abdullah II, the monarch of Jordan. — Kim Kardashian, her sister Khloé and mother Kris Jenner were seen arriving at the Madonna dell'Orto event Thursday evening. — Kylie and Kendall Jenner — Mick Jagger — Leonardo Di Caprio — Orlando Bloom — Bill Gates — Diane von Furstenberg and her husband Barry Diller — Usher — Jewel Kilcher — Sydney Sweeney 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 Sánchez,' 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 organizers to move the event to the more secure Arsenale area beyond Venice's congested center. The city administration has strongly defended the nuptials as in keeping with Venice's tradition as an open city that has welcomed popes, emperors and ordinary visitors alike for centuries. Bezos donated 1 million euros ($1.17 million) each to three environmental research organizations working to preserve Venice, according to Corila, the Venetian environmental research association. ___ Nicole Winfield and Giada Zampano reported from Rome.
USA Today
a day ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Lauren Sánchez Bezos ditches 'sexy' garb for Sophia Loren-inspired wedding dress
Lauren Sánchez Bezos ditched her typical "sexy" garb for a traditional Sophia Loren-inspired gown to tie the knot with billionaire Jeff Bezos. The Amazon founder and children's book author wed in Venice, Italy on Friday, June 27, and Sánchez Bezos wore a dress that mirrored iconic Italian actress Loren's look from the 1958 film "Houseboat." Loren starred in the beloved feature opposite Oscar nominee Cary Grant. Sánchez Bezos wore a Dolce & Gabbana silhouette dress with a high-neck, adorned with 180 silk chiffon-covered priest buttons paired with a tulle-and-lace veil, inspired by a similar veil that Loren wore in "Houseboat," according to a Vogue magazine exclusive. Jeff Bezos, Lauren Sánchez tie the knot in controversial wedding ceremony "It went from 'I want a simple, sexy modern dress' to 'I want something that evokes a moment,' and where I am right now. I am a different person than I was five years ago," she told Vogue. "I went into a lot of therapy, and it's changed me in a bunch of ways. But it's really Jeff," she continued. "Jeff hasn't changed me. Jeff has revealed me. I feel safe. I feel seen. He lets me be me. Like I said about Sophia Loren being unapologetically free, he lets me be unapologetically free." Sánchez Bezos chose to imitate Loren for the occasion after she "researched pictures of brides in the 1950s" and "wanted to reflect back, and I saw Sophia Loren and her hands were" in a prayer position and "she was in high lace, up to the neck, and I said, 'That's it. That's the dress.'" The dress Sánchez Bezos wore for the fête was much anticipated because, at times, her tight, showy wardrobe has caused controversy. She wore a lingerie-inspired all-white look to President Donald Trump's second inauguration in January, which ignited both fierce criticism and applause. "It is a departure from what people expect. From what I expect, but it's very much me," the former "View" guest cohost told Vogue.
USA Today
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez tie the knot in controversial wedding ceremony
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos are officially one. The billionaire Amazon founder and award-winning TV journalist tied the knot Friday, June 27, in an extraordinarily lavish Venice wedding, after multiple days of star-studded nuptial events (likely to the relief of the Italian city). The pair raised eyebrows earlier Friday when Sánchez Bezos waved and blew kisses to onlookers as she boarded a sleek motorboat from the luxe Aman hotel to head to her wedding ceremony while, two hours later, Bezos was snapped waving to the crowd during the spectacle. A-list guests were spotted by photographers on the way to the ceremony, including sisters Kim and Khloé Kardashian, their youngest sisters Kendall and Kylie Jenner and family matriarch Kris Jenner; Oprah Winfrey, model Brooks Nader; Leonardo DiCaprio and his model girlfriend Vittoria Ceretti; and Bezos' fellow billionaire Bill Gates. Jeff Bezos' wife Lauren Sanchez: Wedding dress was from Italian designers Sánchez Bezos wore a Dolce & Gabbana silhouette dress with a high-neck, adorned with 180 silk chiffon-covered priest buttons paired with a tulle-and-lace veil, inspired by a similar veil that iconic Italian actress Sophia Loren wore in the 1958 film "Houseboat," according to a Vogue magazine exclusive. "As you get a little older, not many things surprise you," Sánchez Bezos, 55, told the magazine about the couple's nuptials. "I can't wait to see his face." "I went into a lot of therapy, and it's changed me in a bunch of ways. But it's really Jeff," she continued. "Jeff hasn't changed me. Jeff has revealed me. I feel safe. I feel seen. He lets me be me. Like I said about Sophia Loren being unapologetically free, he lets me be unapologetically free." Everything to know: Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez's wedding Vogue revealed that of the 200 guests, around 70 are the duo's family members: "The wedding is extremely intimate," Sánchez Bezos said. The traditional dress Sánchez Bezos wore for the fête is a disruption from her normal fashion tastes: at times, her tight, sexy wardrobe has caused frustration. She wore a lingerie-inspired all-white look to President Donald Trump's second inauguration in January, which ignited both fierce criticism and applause. "It went from 'I want a simple, sexy modern dress' to 'I want something that evokes a moment,' and where I am right now. I am a different person than I was five years ago," she told Vogue. Lauren Sanchez Bezos: The subtle way Jeff Bezos' wife revealed name change Before posting a wedding photo of the pair, the former guest cohost of "The View" scrubbed her Instagram with only three photos (now archived) remaining on her feed. Eagle-eyed wedding onlookers noticed that the journalist also made another change: shifting her display name to "Lauren Sánchez Bezos" and her handle to @laurensanchezbezos. Kylie Jenner, Tom Brady, Kim Kardashian sail to attend Jeff Bezos, Lauren Sánchez wedding The couple's controversial luxury Venetian wedding will have no legal status under Italian law, suggesting the couple may have already legally wed in the United States, avoiding the bureaucracy associated with an Italian marriage. Bezos' multimillion-dollar affair has drawn ire online and in person, as protests erupt in the region calling for the Blue Origin owner to pay more in taxes amid global frustrations about class and wealth divides. Bezos, 61, and Sánchez were first reportedly linked in 2019, around the same time both parties announced splits from their previous partners. Jeff Bezos started dating Sánchez after Mackenzie Scott split Bezos and his ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott, with whom he shares four children, split officially that same year. Sánchez was already in the process of divorcing her husband, Patrick Whitesell, with whom she shares two children. She has one more child with former NFL tight end Tony Gonzalez, who is expected to attend the ceremony with new wife October "Tobie" Gonzalez. Kim and Khloe Kardashian, Kris Jenner arrive for Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez wedding Jeff Bezos, Lauren Sanchez engagement The pair have been side-by-side ever since, with Bezos popping the question to Sánchez on his yacht during a trip to the Cannes Film Festival in May 2023. He hid a box containing a $2.5 million pink engagement ring under her pillow, Sánchez shared with Vogue. Who went to the Bezos wedding? In attendance over the course of the wedding festivities were Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, Belgian fashion designer Diane von Fürstenberg, Tom Brady, Orlando Bloom, Gayle King and more. President Donald Trump was also reportedly invited but did not attend, The New York Times reported. Before the "I dos," Sánchez hosted Hollywood and nonprofit friends alike at her Paris bachelorette party in May, where Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner, Eva Longoria and Katy Perry were among those in attendance. After the wedding ceremony, the newlyweds and their guests are expected to head to a hall of the Arsenale, a renovated maritime area on the outer edge of Venice. The vast 14th-century complex in the eastern Castello district, known for hosting the Venice Biennale art fair, is surrounded by water and impossible to reach by land when connecting bridges are raised. Contributing: Saman Shafiq, Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY; Reuters
