Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sánchez checked out of their luxury hotel overlooking Venice’s Grand Canal on Saturday, wrapping up a lavish three-day wedding celebration attended by A-list celebrities and global figures.
The couple, aged 61 and 55 respectively, exchanged rings on Friday evening during a romantic ceremony held on the tiny island of San Giorgio, just across the water from St. Mark’s Square, accompanied by a performance from singer Matteo Bocelli.
Prominent guests at the celebration included Queen Rania of Jordan, Ivanka Trump, Bill Gates, Leonardo DiCaprio, Orlando Bloom, Tom Brady, Oprah Winfrey, Kris Jenner, Kim and Khloé Kardashian, and Jared Kushner.
Capping off a luxurious three-day series of festivities estimated to cost around $50 million and attended by roughly 200 to 250 guests, the main wedding party was scheduled for Saturday night at Venice’s historic “Arsenale,” a former medieval shipyard now transformed into an arts and events venue. Performances from Lady Gaga and Elton John were anticipated highlights.
However, not everyone in Venice was celebrating. Around 1,000 residents and activists protested the event on Saturday, criticizing what they see as the city being "gifted" to the wealthy elite.
A senior city council official told Reuters that the ceremony holds no legal weight under Italian law, suggesting that Bezos and Sánchez likely held a civil marriage in the United States to avoid Italy’s bureaucratic wedding procedures.