The wedding of American businessman Jeff Bezos and media personality Lauren Sánchez is set for late June 2025 in Venice, Italy. This lavish, multi-day celebration will take place at several historic sites across the city, attracting major media coverage due to its high-profile guests and extensive security. However, the event has sparked protests from Venetian activists concerned about the commercialization of Venice and the city’s use for exclusive private functions. The controversy highlights tensions between luxury tourism and preserving the cultural heritage of Venice.
Background
Businessman Jeff Bezos was married to MacKenzie Scott from 1993 until their divorce in 2019.23 Lauren Sánchez was married to Patrick Whitesell from 2005 to 2019.4 Bezos and Scott have four children, while Sánchez and Whitesell have two children together.5
Engagement
Bezos proposed to Sánchez while on holiday in the south of France in 2023. He proposed with an engagement ring featuring a large pink diamond in a cushion cut, set on a platinum band.6 The diamond is estimated to weigh 30 carats and to have cost between $3–5 million.7
An engagement party was held on Bezos's yacht, Koru, on the Amalfi Coast near Positano, two months after the proposal.8 Guests reportedly included Leonardo DiCaprio, Bill Gates, Whitney Wolfe Herd, Kris Jenner, Wendi Murdoch, Sarah Staudinger, and Queen Rania of Jordan.910
A second engagement party was held for the couple at the home of their friends Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg in Beverly Hills.11
Wedding
The wedding took place in Venice on June 27, 2025, with the couple exchanging vows at the basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore on the island of the same name.1213 Matteo Bocelli was expected to perform at the ceremony.14 Other parties held as part of the celebrations included a party themed around The Great Gatsby, a pyjama party, and a foam party.15 Sánchez reportedly had 27 outfits for the extended nuptials.16 The couple was staying at the Aman Venice hotel, in the former Palazzo Papadopoli.17 A party on the Thursday prior to the wedding was held in the cloisters of the Madonna dell'Orto in the district of the city.
The Mayor of Venice, Luigi Brugnaro, said that the event would "bring economic returns of millions of euros" to the city.18 Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Nick Squires stated that it would be "a bonanza for hoteliers, restaurant owners, water taxi drivers, and gondoliers" and the most significant celebrity wedding in Venice since the wedding of George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin in 2015.19 The event was organized by the event planners Lanza & Baucina.20 Potential venues for the wedding included the Doge's Palace, the Venetian Arsenal, and the Fondazione Cini on San Giorgio Maggiore.
During the ceremony, Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez likely exchanged rings symbolically, but it remains unclear when the couple legally wed (or if they already have, in the USA).21
Italian media reported that several top hotels in Venice were fully booked, including the Hotel Cipriani, Hotel Danieli, and Palazzo Pisani Gritti. Every one of Venice's water taxis had also reportedly been reserved to transport guests.22
The couple donated 2 million euros to a project studying the lagoons of the Veneto region.23
Guests
Between 200 and 250 guests were expected to attend.24 Ninety private jets brought guests to Marco Polo Airport, generating an expected revenue of 48 million euros.2526 Guests included Bill Gates, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, Mick Jagger, Oprah Winfrey, Barbra Streisand, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Kim Kardashian, Khloé Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, Eva Longoria, and Ivanka Trump.2728
Local opposition and protest
The wedding has attracted opposition and protests from Venetians.2930 An activist from the group No Space for Bezos stated that the wedding was "...the symbol of the exploitation of the city by outsiders... Venice is now just an asset" and that "Venice is being treated like a showcase, a stage." The group has hung banners from the Rialto Bridge and the bell tower of San Giorgio Maggiore.3132 Activists had planned to protest at the Scuola vecchia della Misericordia, where the wedding celebrations were due to be held, by filling the canal with inflatable crocodiles.33 The venue was moved to the Venetian Arsenal in the Castello district, which was described by Reuters as "surrounded by water and impossible to reach by land when connecting bridges are raised."34 The venue was also purportedly changed due to heightened security following the Iran–Israel war and the expected attendance of Ivanka Trump, daughter of the president of the United States, Donald Trump.3536
References
"Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez wrap up three-day Venice wedding extravaganza". CNN. June 28, 2025. Retrieved June 29, 2025. https://edition.cnn.com/2025/06/27/style/jeff-bezos-lauren-sanchez-wedding ↩
Squires, Nick (March 27, 2025). "Jeff Bezos to hold star-studded three-day wedding in Venice". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved May 27, 2025. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2025/03/27/venice-mayor-spills-the-beans-on-bezos-wedding-extravaganza/ ↩
Snider, Mike (January 9, 2019). "Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and wife MacKenzie to divorce after 25 years of marriage". USA Today. Archived from the original on January 9, 2019. Retrieved January 9, 2019. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2019/01/09/amazon-ceo-jeff-bezos-wife-mackenzie-divorce-after-25-years/2523544002/ ↩
"Lauren Sanchez Files for Divorce After Bezos Split Finalized". Bloomberg.com. April 6, 2019. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-06/lauren-sanchez-files-for-divorce-after-bezos-split-finalized ↩
Squires, Nick (March 27, 2025). "Jeff Bezos to hold star-studded three-day wedding in Venice". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved May 27, 2025. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2025/03/27/venice-mayor-spills-the-beans-on-bezos-wedding-extravaganza/ ↩
"All About Lauren Sánchez's 30-Carat Engagement Ring From Jeff Bezos (Including Its Massive Price Tag)". People (magazine). July 14, 2024. Retrieved May 27, 2025. https://people.com/all-about-lauren-sanchez-engagement-ring-8658272 ↩
"All About Lauren Sánchez's 30-Carat Engagement Ring From Jeff Bezos (Including Its Massive Price Tag)". People (magazine). July 14, 2024. Retrieved May 27, 2025. https://people.com/all-about-lauren-sanchez-engagement-ring-8658272 ↩
"All About Lauren Sánchez's 30-Carat Engagement Ring From Jeff Bezos (Including Its Massive Price Tag)". People (magazine). July 14, 2024. Retrieved May 27, 2025. https://people.com/all-about-lauren-sanchez-engagement-ring-8658272 ↩
Adams, Abigail (August 3, 2023). "Jeff Bezos and Fiancée Lauren Sánchez Host Engagement Party on His $500M Yacht: Source". People (magazine). Retrieved May 27, 2025. https://people.com/jeff-bezos-lauren-sanchez-engagement-party-yacht-source-7569608 ↩
Stamp, Elizabeth (May 14, 2025). "Jeff Bezos's Yacht: Everything You Ever Wondered About Koru". Architectural Digest. Retrieved May 27, 2025. https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/jeff-bezoss-yacht-everything-you-ever-wondered-about-koru ↩
"Lauren Sánchez on Going to Space, Giving Back, and Her High-Flying Romance With Jeff Bezos". Vogue (magazine). July 2023. Retrieved May 27, 2025. https://www.vogue.com/article/lauren-sanchez-december-2023-interview-profile ↩
Squires, Nick (March 27, 2025). "Jeff Bezos to hold star-studded three-day wedding in Venice". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved May 27, 2025. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2025/03/27/venice-mayor-spills-the-beans-on-bezos-wedding-extravaganza/ ↩
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