Another Ambani in town? Jeff Bezos hosts world’s most lavish wedding

[The Bald Eagle]

Venice goes VIP: Jeff Bezos hosts world’s most lavish wedding

Venice, Italy – Billionaire Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, and Emmy-winning journalist Lauren Sánchez have kicked off a three-day luxury wedding celebration in Venice. While the couple has kept the official wedding date and time secret, media reports say the grand ceremony will be held at the historic Arsenale, right across from the iconic St. Mark’s Square, under the shadow of the 99-meter bell tower.

Although the couple may have already tied the knot privately in the U.S., this event appears to be a second, high-profile celebration. Reports confirm the guest list includes Hollywood stars, top business leaders, and global political figures. VIP arrivals began earlier this week, with Ivanka Trump among the first spotted. Guests are staying in five ultra-luxury hotels, booked exclusively for the wedding.

The total estimated cost of the event is a jaw-dropping $56 million (over 15 billion PKR), earning it a spot among the most expensive weddings in history. To ensure smooth logistics, at least 30 private water taxis have been hired to ferry guests across Venice’s canals. In addition, 90 private jets have flown in dignitaries from around the world.

Food and wedding treats are being carefully curated with a focus on local Italian traditions. Over 200 custom gift bags have been ordered from Rosa Salva, a famous Venetian pastry company. These will be filled with traditional sweets, honoring the city’s culinary heritage while adding to the wedding’s exclusivity.

Bezos, 61, and Sánchez, 55, got engaged in 2023 after confirming their relationship in 2019, shortly after Bezos’ divorce from MacKenzie Scott, his wife of 26 years. Sánchez also ended a 13-year marriage to Patrick Whitesell, with whom she shares two children. Their Venice celebration is not just a wedding—it’s a statement of luxury, legacy, and global spotlight.

Source: Daily Times

 

[Hitman]

Good luck to the couple! $56 million for a wedding is a huge deal.

 

[The Bald Eagle]

I fear the same fate... don't know why but these super rich guys can never settle happily because of their big egos

 

[sweep_shot]

Lavish wedding is stupid.

Imagine doing a lavish wedding and getting divorced after 2 years. LOL.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Lavish wedding is stupid.

Imagine doing a lavish wedding and getting divorced after 2 years. LOL.

Then it would be a lavish divorce lol

 

[sweep_shot]

Then it would be a lavish divorce lol

LOL. True.

 

[BouncerGuy]

At the Bezos-Sanchez wedding: Bride, groom and VIP guests gather on San Giorgio Maggiore for the main event

Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos have made it onto the Venetian island of San Giorgio Maggiore, where they will celebrate their marriage on Friday evening.

Hours ahead of the expected ceremony, the bride traveled to the island by water taxi. Wearing an elegant cream silk suit by Dior, coyly styled with a silk headscarf and sunglasses — before she changed into a Dolce & Gabbana gown for the ceremony — Sanchez blew a kiss to photographers before her departure. Bezos, in a back tuxedo, made his way across a couple of hours later followed by the couple’s 200-or-so guests.

Though tonight is slated to be the extravaganza’s tentpole event, It remains unclear when the couple will legally wed (or if they already have, prior to this week, in the US). A spokesperson for the mayor’s office in Venice told CNN on Thursday that the city has not received an official request from the couple, meaning the events this week will be ceremonial and not legally binding.

The bride, groom and celebrity guests make their way to the wedding venue. Reuters

On Thursday night, celebrities gathered for a kick-off event at the medieval Madonna dell’Orto church. A traffic ordinance issued from Venice City Hall, barred pedestrian foot traffic around the 14th-century cathedral, which houses artworks from the Venetian painter Tintoretto, from late afternoon until midnight.

In line with the event’s tightly guarded details, guests appeared to adhere to a social media blackout, with little activity on their feeds except for a few glimpses of the city itself and the stormy weather overnight.

The three-day affair is taking place until Saturday, with some 200 guests joining the billionaire Amazon founder and the former journalist in celebrating their marriage after a two-year engagement.

The events are estimated to cost some 40-48 million euros ($46.5-55.6 million), according to Reuters. Venice tourism councillor Simone Venturini told CNN that the city was expected to profit some “€20-30 million ($23.4-35.1 million) for the parties and organizations and the events” during the week.

Celebrities come out

A barrage of A-listers were photographed in the city on Thursday. Kim Kardashian arrived with her sister Khloe and mother Kris Jenner; they were seen later in the day chatting with actor Orlando Bloom. Oprah Winfrey and former NFL quarterback Tom Brady were also among VIPs boarding water taxis at the airport, while Bill Gates and Kendall and Kylie Jenner were also spotted. Ivanka Trump, Jared Kusher and their children have already spent a few days in the city, with Trump posting on Instagram, “Ready to celebrate the love story of our friends,” along with a pic of her hotel suite bearing the name “Dolce Vita.”

By Thursday afternoon, celebrity guests were seen leaving the Gritti Palace Hotel, dressed up for the first evening’s events. Kim Kardashian opted for skintight snakeskin, while Trump was pictured in a cherry blossom-motif cocktail dress by Oscar de la Renta. The bride wore a shimmering brocade corset dress from Schiaparelli’s most recent couture collection.The day’s sightings also included Usher in a cream suit and low-cut burgundy dress shirt, as well as Leonardo DiCaprio shielding his face with a black cap.

A shape-shifting schedule

With the threat of disruptive protests ever-present, the venues and plans have been kept fluid.

Venice’s famed waterways and winding streets have hosted an array of high-profile weddings including François-Henri Pinault and Salma Hayek-Pinault in 2009, George and Amal Clooney in 2014, and Alexandre Arnault and Géraldine Guyot in 2021. But protestors associated with the group No Space for Bezos have already shifted the impending wedding plans, with their threat of canal blockades moving one of the weekend’s events from a grand, centrally located space to a former shipyard on Venice’s perimeter, according to the group.

The complex wedding is being orchestrated by Lanza and Baucina — the planners who similarly oversaw the Clooneys’ star-studded Venetian union — who told CNN that their clients’ instructions have been to minimize “any disruption to the city,” while insisting they use an overwhelming number of local suppliers to help craft the event.

The couple is sourcing some 80% of wedding provisions from local vendors, including pastries from the Rosa Salva pastry shop, the oldest in Venice, and gifts from Murano glassware designer Laguna B.

Around 30 of the city’s elite water taxis, out of 280 total, are also thought to be reserved. One taxi driver told CNN he has been booked from June 25 through June 30 for “a big wedding,” but declined to say more on the subject. Gondolas have also been put on hold, with the city’s gondola association confirming they are ready for the event.

Fashion on show

During the festivities, Sanchez is expected to turn an array of luxury looks. Spotted leaving the five-star Aman hotel on Wednesday by luxury water taxi, she opted for a vintage Alexander McQueen one-shoulder gown for one of her first appearances in the city.

Details of Sanchez’s wedding gown will no doubt be one of the event’s most closely guarded secrets. Luxury Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana is the strongest contender — with Domenico Dolce photographed at Venice’s outdoor Riva Lounge on Thursday — though Oscar de la Renta also being floated as a brand she may turn to for one of her many looks this week. Last year, Sanchez sat front row for Dolce & Gabbana’s Alta Sartoria show in Sardinia as her son Nikko Gonzalez walked the runway, making it a family affair. She was also photographed for Bezos’s 60th birthday in a sheer gown by the Italian label, though she opted for Oscar de la Renta for her 2024 Met Gala debut and for the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in March.

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/06/26/style/bezos-sanchez-wedding-guests-arrive

 

[Bhaijaan]

At the end of the day, it’s their life and their choice.

Individuals like Jeff Bezos have built business empires that generate wealth on a scale most can’t fathom. These enterprises are literally the modern day gold mines or oil wells, generating extra ordinary wealth continuously.

The money spent on lavish weddings or events is often a drop in the ocean for them, quickly recouped through the ongoing success of their businesses. Compared to most people, the proportion of net wealth spent on wedding would still be lower for the ultra rich.

And let’s not forget, events like these aren’t just about celebrationthey’re strategic. As we saw with the Ambani wedding, such occasions also serve as powerful networking platforms, helping to forge new business alliances and strengthen existing ones. For global conglomerates, that kind of relationship-building is essential.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

I don't think I have met any person who looks back at their wedding and thinks - I wish I had spent more money.

However this is an expensive lesson we all have to go through. For a man marrying his second wife like Jeff he will also have to deal with the insecurities of his new partner. Being a second wife can be difficult and he will be under pressure to make her feel valued.

 

[Champ_Pal]

They have been together for a while now. Their Money their wish.

 

[sweep_shot]

At the end of the day, it’s their life and their choice.

He can buy 1000 golden lotas with his money. Not my business.

We are simply discussing the absurdity of a lavish wedding. Lavish wedding on its own is stupid because it is a massive waste of money and there is no guarantee marriage would last.

 

[Technics 1210]

Another Ambani?

Behave!

 

[guard]

They have been together for a while now. Their Money their wish.

*His money her wish

 

[Bhaijaan]

He can buy 1000 golden lotas with his money. Not my business.

We are simply discussing the absurdity of a lavish wedding. Lavish wedding on its own is stupid because it is a massive waste of money and there is no guarantee marriage would last.

It’s absurd for you.
For them it’s an opportunity to create history. Do something that would be remembered.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

He is bald and very rich. She is beautiful. I don't really know what there is to say much beyond this.