Jeff Bezos wedding: What we know so far about the Venice nuptials

As tech billionaire Jeff Bezos and his fiancée Lauren Sanchez prepare for their upcoming nuptials in Venice, Italy, some details about the lavish wedding have been revealed — and some residents say they are concerned about the scale of the event.

Representatives for the couple are remaining relatively tight-lipped about the wedding, which is set for later this week, with one guest reportedly telling CNN Style that attendees had to sign an NDA.

Despite the secrecy and mystery of it all, there’s still plenty to unpack. The multi-day function is being run by boutique event planners Lanza and Baucina, the Italian duo behind George and Amal Clooney’s 2014 wedding.

The vendors

Bezos and Sanchez are reportedly hiring mostly local suppliers, with 80 per cent of wedding vendors said to be from the area.

On that list are pastries from the city’s oldest patisserie, Rosa Salva, which has been run by the same family for nearly 150 years. Its owner, Antonio Rosa Salva, has been commissioned to make “about 200 goodie bags” for wedding guests, and says he is accustomed to preparing orders of up to 1,000 baked goods.

Laguna B, a design studio known for its distinctive hand-blown Murano glass prized by fashion and design clients, was also tapped by the couple, The Associated Press reported.

Meanwhile, about 30 of Venice’s 280 high-end water taxis are believed to have been reserved by the couple for the event, according to NBC.

One driver told CNN he is booked from June 25 to 30 for “a big wedding,” but did not elaborate.

In addition, the city’s nine yacht ports are believed to be booked for the duration of the event, and both of Bezos’ yachts, Koru and Abeona, are currently in the Adriatic Sea, the body of water on which Venice is situated, according to a marine traffic website.

The city’s airspace will reportedly be closed to drones and unauthorized air traffic, though contingencies have been made for private helicopters and high-profile individuals who travel with security details, such as senior political leaders.

The venue

Little is known about the wedding day itself, with organizers keeping information about potential venues under wraps. Media reports have indicated that several are on hold, and that one will be selected based on factors such as protests and weather, a person close to Venice City Hall said.

There is speculation that the Cini Foundation on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore could be the spot to host the wedding. The monumental complex has previously held grand gatherings, including G7 events and private concerts.

On Tuesday, The Guardian reported that the couple switched a wedding event venue due to safety concerns and threats of a protest involving inflatable crocodiles.

The tech billionaire and his wife-to-be were set to host a party at the Scuola Grande della Misericordia, a historic building dating back to the 1300s, but pivoted at the last minute to the Arsenale di Venezia, a fortified 14th-century complex of shipyards in the eastern Castello district that is only accessible by boat, Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, protesters behind the inflatable crocodile stunt say that they will not attempt to stop the wedding but plan to host a “no Bezos, no war” march instead.

The guests

While the guest list has been kept hush-hush, social media posts from the bride’s Parisian bachelorette party last month may provide a glimpse of insight. Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner, Katy Perry and Eva Longoria all appeared in photographs shared by Sanchez on Instagram.

Among the 200 guests are Oprah Winfrey, Mick Jagger and Ivanka Trump, according to The Associated Press. In addition, about 95 private jets are reportedly set to land in Venice over the coming days.

According to NBC, only three or four hotels will be used to accommodate those attending the event, which is set to begin preliminary festivities on June 24.

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A post shared by Lauren Sanchez (@laurenwsanchez)

The protests

Some locals are expressing concern over the scale of the festivities in a city already swarmed by tourism.

Last week, activists in Venice gathered to organize protests on June 26, 27 and 28 — the expected dates of the wedding — over the risk of disruptions.

Large banners, graffiti and stickers were displayed all around the city that read “No Space for Bezos” with an image of a spaceship, seemingly making reference to Bezos’s ownership of Blue Origin, a U.S.-based space technology company.

While many details surrounding the upcoming nuptials have remained secret, one Venice resident told the New York Times that “we have our moles.”

Federica Toninello, a protest organizer, told the paper that one of the venues could be The Misericordia, a large space dedicated to culture and events in Venice.

“Bezos will never get to the Misericordia,” she said. “We will line the streets with our bodies, block the canals with lifesavers, dinghies and our boats.”

“Let’s make sure that Venice is not remembered as a postcard venue where Bezos had his wedding but as the city that did not bend to oligarchs,” Na Haby Stella Faye, another protester, told the outlet. “We have a chance to disrupt a $10-million wedding — let’s do it,” she said.

Greenpeace Italia and the British activist group Everyone Hates Elon are also part of the protests; they say they joined to bring attention to the “social and climate injustice” of such events.

The city says it is accustomed to hosting large festivities and crowds, with some 20 million tourists flocking to Venice every year.

“The city is fully accustomed to hosting high-profile events of this nature and scale, including other celebrity weddings, international summits such as the G7 and G20, as well as traditional events like the Festa del Redentore and the Venice Biennale,” it said in a statement.

“Protest initiatives are in no way representative of the majority of citizens, who are proud that Venice has been chosen as the wedding location,” the statement concluded.

Despite the backlash, Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said that Venice is honoured to host the wedding.

“We are very proud,” Brugnaro told AP, saying he hoped he would get the chance to meet Bezos. “I don’t know if I will have time, or if he will, to meet and shake hands, but it’s an honour that they chose Venice. Venice once again reveals itself to be a global stage.”

In March, Brugnaro told People magazine that reports the couple had booked out a large number of hotel suites and city services, including gondolas, were false.

“We are mutually working and supporting the organizers to ensure that the event will be absolutely respectful of the fragility and uniqueness of the city,” he told the outlet.

“The many speculations and fake news circulating about Jeff Bezos’ wedding are completely unfounded,” the city added in a statement, saying that it “is their utmost priority to make sure the city functions as normal, for all, with no abnormal disruption to anyone,” he concluded.

— With files from The Associated Press and Global News’ Katie Scott

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