Next week, Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and one of the world’s richest men, is set to marry Lauren Sánchez, a former TV reporter. Their ceremony promises to be among the most closely watched, and closely held, in recent memory.
Beyond its general locale — Venice, where some locals are already upset about the event — little is known about the couple’s impending nuptials, following what has been about six years of public courtship.
It’s a period that includes Mr. Bezos’ evolution from being known as the owner of the Washington Post, one of the nation’s most prominent newspapers, to being known as a friend of a president notorious for his attacks on the press.
At the same time, Ms. Sánchez has transitioned from being a news anchor in Los Angeles and a notable figure in the social scene to becoming a celebrity in her own right — taking short spaceflights with Katy Perry aboard a rocket bankrolled by her fiancé and having a bachelorette party attended by the Kardashians.
Mr. Bezos, 61, proposed to Ms. Sánchez, 55, on his yacht, Koru, docked near the Cannes Film Festival in May 2023, according to an interview in Vogue, hiding the pink diamond ring under her pillow. “When Jeff opened the box,” Ms. Sánchez recalled. “I think I blacked out a bit.”
Yet, for all of that publicity, the actual wedding plans have remained exceedingly secret, with security concerns and possible protests, though rumors abound about the guest list, the locale, and — naturally — the prenuptial agreement. Here’s what we know.
Where and when is the wedding?
Needless to say, it’s a destination wedding, and it seems likely to occur between June 26 and 28. According to unconfirmed reports in Italian newspapers, the locations for festivities may include a pagoda on Venice’s Lido beach, where the Venice Film Festival is held; the island of San Giorgio which faces the Doge palace; and the Scuola Grande della Misericordia, a lovingly restored Renaissance building, which exudes status-symbol wedding vibes: soaring ceilings, an indoor colonnade, plenty of plinths.
The Scuola Grande della Misericordia in Venice alongside a canal below with boats in the water and buildings lining the opposite bank.
Among the rumored venues, the Scuola Grande della Misericordia stands out as a likely choice for some of the wedding festivities. Credit…Andrea Pattaro/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
But Mr. Bezos and his camp have been mum about venues — and pretty much everything else.
Wherever Ms. Sánchez and Mr. Bezos say their “I dos,” it won’t be at City Hall, unlike George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin, who got married there in 2014, according to city officials. Italy has a variety of rules surrounding marriage rites, which can involve religious ceremonies, often performed in Roman Catholic churches. The Sánchez-Bezos wedding, however, will be nondenominational, likely of a ceremonial nature.
Who is invited?
Secrecy surrounding the event extends to the guest list, though approximately 200 guests are expected. Many of those will be close friends and family — the couple have seven children, combined, from previous marriages and relationships — with a dappling of celebrities, tech moguls and political figures. President Trump is not attending, though his daughter Ivanka is likely to be there, with her husband, Jared Kushner.
The list is believed to be packed with A-listers, including Oprah Winfrey, Mick Jagger, Jay-Z & Beyoncé, Eva Longoria, Gayle King and Jewel. Barry Diller and his wife, Diane von Furstenberg, who have a home in Venice, may also attend.
If the bachelorette party — held in Paris in May — was any indication, both Ms. Perry and Kim Kardashian, likely will be on the guest list, as could Kris Jenner.
Ms. Sánchez’s bachelorette also included friends like Veronica Smiley Grazer, a marketing executive whose husband is film producer Brian Grazer; Lydia Kives, a civil rights lawyer who is married to Michael Kives, a Canadian investor and former agent who has been called a “Hollywood super-connector”; and October Gonzalez, a television host who is married to Hall of Fame football player Tony Gonzalez, a former boyfriend of Ms. Sánchez with whom she shares a child. All might make the scene, as could some of Mr. Bezos’ tech brethren, such as Bill Gates, who attended one of the couple’s engagement parties.
Some guests may be arriving nautically: A representative of local yachting operators said that nine yachts associated with the wedding were expected to be docked in Venice during the week leading up to the event.
How much is this all going to cost?
Well, certainly more than your average Amazon purchase, but perhaps not on the level of last year’s Ambani-Merchant wedding in Mumbai. Still, numerous tabloid reports have estimated the cost to reach multiple millions.
Perhaps aware of local concerns regarding the potential ostentation of the wedding, Lanza & Baucina, which is organizing the wedding, expressed their intention to minimize “any disruption to the city” and its residents, while also employing locals to craft the events. They added that Mr. Bezos and Ms. Sánchez have supported “the city and its all-important lagoon through non-profit organizations and associated projects.”
Lanza & Baucina, a prestigious London-based agency established by three Italian cousins, has done work in Venice before, and says — on its all-caps website — that it has planned “THE WORLD’S MOST EXCLUSIVE, PRIVATE AND SPECTACULAR PARTIES,” including royal and celebrity weddings, on every continent. But they are also cautious in their approach.
“DISCRETION IS PARAMOUNT TO US,” the website reads, loudly.
Why are people protesting?
Venice and its canals attract large crowds, especially in the summer, prompting city officials to impose a small fee for visitors during peak periods and limit tour group sizes.
But the protests over the Bezos wedding also seem to be dovetailing with a larger movement in some popular European locations against “overtourism,” with protests in places like Barcelona, Mallorca and Lisbon.
In Venice, the “No Space for Bezos” movement is promising more protests, with talk of blocking canals and other anti-nuptial mischief.
Tommaso Cacciari, one of the organizers of the protests, said they were planning to obstruct the canals that lead to the Scuola Grande della Misericordia, one of the venues rumored to be used for the wedding, with boats but also inflatable animals. “Maybe we will manage to block it,” he said. “But they will definitely have to see us.”
Darco Pellos, the police prefect of Venice, said there will be heightened security to ensure that the events take place smoothly.
Banners and posters are already being seen, some with the slogan — “Veniceland: A playground fit for an oligarch.”
As a counterpoint, local officials have said that only about 30 water taxis have been booked for the event, and some residents have welcomed the ultrawealthy wedding, noting that the city has regularly hosted big, flashy parties.
What’s the scene expected to be like?
There is likely to be a crush of paparazzi and other amateur stargazers.
One point of reference is the 2014 Clooney-Alamuddin event, where celebrity news and morning shows decamped to Venice and photographers pursued the couple. (That couple seemed remarkably at ease, answering shouted questions from reporters and acknowledging screaming fans.)
How Ms. Sánchez and Mr. Bezos greet and are greeted by the public remains to be seen, though they could have a handy escape if they want to avoid any unwanted attention: according to the boat tracking site, Marine Traffic, Koru is already bobbing in the Adriatic Sea, along with Mr. Bezos’ “support ship,” the Abeona, a 250-feet-long dinghy complete with a helicopter pad. (Ms. Sánchez is a pilot.)
But unlike other big boats, and big names, Koru appears not to be headed to the wedding.
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