Here’s something you can’t get with next-day delivery: a lavish Venetian wedding.
Amazon (AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos and his fiancee, media personality Lauren Sánchez, are getting married in the Italian city in an extravaganza that will run from June 24-26, Venetian officials confirmed over the weekend.
Bezos’ $500 million megayacht, Koru, is expected to play some role — although reports vary on whether it will host the wedding or ferry people across the city during the festivities. Venice has regulations on larger boats, which would prevent the Amazon founder’s yacht from being in the scenic waterways near some of the more beautiful, romantic parts of the city.
Per The Daily Mail, two of Venice’s most luxurious hotels, the Gritti Palace and Aman Venice, have been booked up around the wedding dates; the hotels’ rooms start around $3,200 and rise depending on the room and the season.
Sources told Italian media that Venice is a significant choice for the couple because of the city’s importance in the couple’s relationship: “Choosing Venice is more than a romantic gesture — it’s a nod to the couple’s shared history with the city, which they’ve frequently visited during their relationship… the wedding is poised to be a defining social event of 2025, not only for the couple but for Venice itself.”
Bezos proposed to his broadcaster fiancee on his megayacht with a 30-carat, cushion-cut $2.5 million diamond engagement ring so huge that Sánchez told Vogue she “kind of blacked out” when she saw it.
Sánchez has talked about how, “like every other bride,” she has a Pinterest (PINS) account. Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour has reportedly taken the bride-to-be under her wing to find a wedding dress, which some suggest is being designed by the brand Oscar de la Renta, although the couple was recently seen exiting Dolce and Gabbana, fueling speculation that the Italian designers could be involved in the celebration’s outfits.
Venetian officials have told people not to worry about potential disruptions as a result of the wedding, with the mayor’s office issuing a statement that only 200 guests have been invited — which reportedly include Oprah Winfrey, the extended Trump family, Orlando Bloom, Katy Perry, members of the Kardashian family, Eva Longoria, Barbra Streisand, Queen Rania of Jordan, and Leonardo DiCaprio.
“Our city has much experience in international events much larger than this,” Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said. “The [organizers] have categorically not booked large amounts of gondolas or excessive numbers of water taxis, and it is their utmost priority to make sure the city functions as normal, for all.”
Venice is no stranger to playing host to extravagant weddings. Actor George Clooney and human rights lawyer Amal Clooney picked the Italian city for their big day because, Clooney said, “It’s the most romantic city in the world.” They married at the city’s Aman Venice luxury hotel in 2014 (for a rumored $4.6 million), and the couple’s 100 guests cruised through the Venetian canals. Billionaire François-Henri Pinault and actress Salma Hayek also tied the knot in the city, in a 2009 ceremony at the famous Venice opera house Teatro La Fenice that cost a reported $3.5 million.
So what do you get as a wedding present for the world’s second-richest man, worth over $200 billion? Sánchez’s brother Paul told TMZ that he thinks the couple is requesting that guests make charitable donations. He had a big prediction for the scale and impact: “I think it’s going to be a Princess Di-like thing,” he said. “We don’t have many details yet, but it’s gonna be star-studded and fun.”
How will the Bezos-Sanchez affair stack up against some of the other most extravagant weddings of all time? Scroll through to find out.
