28 June,2025 06:49 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez married
The main event of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's three-day-long Venetian wedding culminated in a private ceremony hosted on the secluded, historic San Giorgio Maggiore island located in the San Marco sestiere. Some 200 members of the celebrity guest list, including the Kardashian-Jenner family, Bill Gates, Karlie Kloss, Oprah Winfrey and Usher were all snapped stepping onto water taxis in the afternoon, which then ferried them to the festivities> However, their visibility ended there, as the guests seemingly followed a social media blackout once inside the events.
For the unversed, Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez's wedding in Venice, Italy, has drawn protests and opposition from some local residents and activists. Amid the ongoing protest, the protestors have threatened to block canals, placed guerrilla-style banners and dumped uncanny Bezos mannequins into the canals.
This allegedly forced Sanchez and Bezos to change one of the event's locations last minute. The security and inaccessibility of the island were reportedly a key factor in their decision. Meanwhile, the Venice Ministry of Tourism has forecasted that the celebrations will generate almost 68% of the city's annual tourism turnover in just one weekend. However, the protestors have rallied against what they believe to be a takeover of the idyllic Italian archipelago city by some of the world's wealthiest people.
Despite it all, the couple walked down the aisle discreetly. However, it was Lauren's wedding gown that made all the noise. Vogue's digital cover offered the first look at Sanchez's gown. All the speculations and sightings of designer Domenico Dolce in Venice made sense when she said "I do" in a custom design by Dolce & Gabbana.
Interestingly, the beautiful gown took a year and a half in the making. It features a high-necked lace corseted gown with 180 silk chiffon-covered priest buttons dotting the front. Vogue reports that over the course of the night, she had two more outfit changes. One was a sweetheart-neck dress, with reference to the 1946 film 'Gilda', which she wore for the wedding dinner. The other was an intricate cocktail dress featuring 175,000 crystals by Oscar de la Renta.
Although the details of the wedding performers are kept under wraps, Italian media reported that Matteo Bocelli, son of Andrea Bocelli, the revered Italian tenor who performed at both Kim and Kourtney Kardashian's weddings in 2014 and 2022, respectively, kick-started the evening by singing 'Can't Help Falling in Love' by Elvis Presley.
Meanwhile, Lady Gaga is expected to close out the final day of festivities on Saturday. The mega-star will reportedly perform at Venice's former medieval shipyard, the Arsenale, which has been modernised with cultural spaces and hosts the annual Venice Biennale.
