It’s been both the most public and secretive wedding of the year.
On Friday, the main event of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez’s three-day-long Venetian extravaganza culminated in a private ceremony held on the secluded, historic San Giorgio Maggiore island in the San Marco sestiere. In the afternoon, the some 200 members of the celebrity guest list, including the Kardashian-Jenner family, Bill Gates, Karlie Kloss, Oprah Winfrey and Usher were all photographed stepping onto water taxis to ferry them to the festivities, but their visibility ended there, with guests seemingly adhering to an apparent social media blackout once inside each of the weekend’s events.
The ceremony ended discreetly, except for a signal from the fashion world — a Vogue digital cover offering a first look at Sanchez’s gown. After much speculation (and not-so-subtle sightings of designer Domenico Dolce in Venice), it revealed her dress was a custom design by Dolce & Gabbana and was a year and a half in the making. The high-necked lace corseted gown had 180 silk chiffon-covered priest buttons dotting the front. Over the course of the night, per Vogue, she had two more outfit changes: a sweetheart-neck dress — another reference, this time to the 1946 film “Gilda” — for the wedding dinner, and an intricate cocktail dress featuring 175,000 crystals by Oscar de la Renta.
San Giorgio Maggiore is known for its gleaming marble Renaissance-era basilicas, designed by the Italian architect Andrea Palladio. But there may have been another, more pragmatic reason the couple opted for the island: privacy.
After ongoing protests in the city — including the threat of canal blockades, guerilla-style banners and uncanny Bezos mannequins — allegedly forced Sanchez and Bezos to change one of the weekend’s locations at the last minute, the security and inaccessibility of the island was reportedly a key factor in their decision. Venice’s Ministry of Tourism has estimated the celebrations will generate almost 68% of the city’s annual tourism turnover in just one weekend — but protestors have rallied against what they perceive to be a takeover of the idyllic Italian archipelago city by some of the world’s wealthiest people.
During the ceremony, the Amazon-founder billionaire and the former journalist likely exchanged rings symbolically. It remains unclear when the couple legally wed (or if they already have, prior to this week, in the US). A spokesperson for the mayor’s office in Venice had told CNN on Thursday that the city did not receive an official request from the couple, meaning the events this week are ceremonial and will not be legally binding.
Shortly after the Vogue photos were released, Sanchez changed her Instagram account handle to Lauren Sanchez Bezos.
Star-studded bash
Before the celebration, Sanchez herself made her way to San Giorgio Maggiore dressed in a ‘60s-inspired tailored white skirt suit from Dior with a printed silk scarf wrapped Hepburn-style around her head, Jimmy Choo heels and an Hermès Kelly handbag. She blew kisses to photographers as she stepped into a water taxi.
Guests have mingled all weekend wearing an array of luxury designers, including vintage Roberto Cavalli, Dolce & Gabbana, Oscar de la Renta and Versace. On the way to San Giorgio Maggiore, Kylie Jenner wore a powder blue long lace-up corset gown, Kim Kardashian chose a slick dark toffee-colored dress and Oprah opted for a draped pink mermaid silhouette.
Though details of the wedding performers, like much else, were largely 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 — began the evening by singing “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Elvis Presley.
And if Bocelli made guests misty-eyed, then Lady Gaga — reportedly set to close out the final day of festivities on Saturday — will no doubt bring the party. The pop mega-star is expected to perform at Venice’s former medieval shipyard, the Arsenale — which has been modernized with cultural spaces and hosts the annual Venice Biennale.
(CNN)
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