When the world's third-richest man decides to get married, it is never only a wedding but also a spectacle. Venice is alive (behind the grand palazzi and soaring arches of San Giorgio Maggiore) with movement, as Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez prepare to get married.

With a 30-carat diamond ring, a guest list that includes an array of celebrities and political powerhouses, and lavish events hosted aboard superyachts and inside historic locations, their wedding is like a modern-day fairy tale. Their three-day celebration of love was a spectacular star shine that attracted star power, demanded protests, and cast a veil of international attention over the lagoon city.

In an already precarious position between preservation and profit, Bezos and Sánchez's wedding is more than a personal ceremony; it catalyses a larger discussion about access, heritage, and demonstrating one's affluence in a vulnerable, loved place.

Here’s a closer look at the love, the vows, and why Venice is becoming an unexpected character in their billionaire “I do.”

A Love in the Limelight

At 61, Jeff Bezos is the man who first won Lauren Sánchez's heart in May 2023 when he proposed on his $500 million yacht, the Koru, and presented her with a stunning 30-carat pink diamond ring—it’s estimated to be worth between $3–5 million and is set on platinum.

At 55, Sánchez is more than a former TV journalist; she is a helicopter pilot, space traveller, entrepreneur, dyslexia advocate, and author. After an extravagant engagement party off the Amalfi Coast, their journey ends in Venice, a city rich in culture and love.
Venues

The extravagant nuptials of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez have occurred at some of the most historic and expensive venues in Venice. The supposed pre-wedding events launched from Bezos' $500 million superyacht, Koru, while moored in the Venetian lagoon. A welcome dinner occurred at Teatro La Fenice, one of the great opera houses of Italy, as well as one of the oldest. The ceremony supposedly took place at the Gritti Palace overlooking the Grand Canal, a beautiful 15th-century palace with all the amenities of a luxury hotel. There have also been events hosted at the Arsenale, a former shipyard known to host events of a significant size. The organisers, financial backing, and venues steeped in history and culture were a great combination of old world and billionaire extravagance, if there ever was one, fittingly within the Venetian traditions and style.

The exact date and location of the wedding ceremony are classified; however, the main celebration is planned for Saturday in the Arsenale, which was the capital weighty naval base for the Republic of Venice at its height. Arsenale offers a magnificent sight of towering walls and shipyards that date back centuries. According to Reuters, a location with historical roots is locked down for the occasion. The couple also possibly moved their event from Misericordia, allegedly because of security concerns and protests, to a venue that can only be accessed by boat.

The Guest List

Around 200–250 VIPs, arriving via private jets and superyachts, which include:

Oprah Winfrey
Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom
Barbra Streisand
Beyonce & Jay-Z
Gayle King
Veronica and Brian Grazer
Eva Longoria and Jose Baston
Karlie Kloss and Joshua Kushner
Leonardo DiCaprio and Vittoria Ceretti
Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg
Lydia Kives and Michael Kives
Mick Jagger
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner
Kris Jenner and Corey Gamble
Kim Kardashian
Charissa Thompson
Natasha Poonawalla
Brooks Nader
Elsa Marie Collins
Bill Gates
Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan

The Local Touch

Roughly 80% of Jeff Bezos's and Lauren Sánchez’s Venetian wedding services were sourced from within the city, demonstrating a deliberate move to recognise and support the local town and its economy. Expenses included pastries from Rosa Salva, a venerable Venetian patisserie that has been operating for centuries, while Laguna B curated all of the coveted detailing from Murano glass, etc.

All transportation was organised through water taxis, and there were arrangements to control all of the water taxis and obtain their exclusive use, eliminating neighbour impacts as much as reasonably possible. There were no gifts per se, rather a "NO GIFT" policy, instead asking for contributions to worthwhile causes such as Venice's lagoon research programs, UNESCO heritage preservation, and local university programs. These steps indicate an effort to give back to the city that hosted their event, featuring the city's artisans, supporting cultural and university institutions, and recognising the delicate state of the legacy left behind in Venice's cultural and physical environment.

Why are the Locals Protesting?

The "No Space for Bezos" protests unfolded in Venice in reaction to Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez’s extravagant wedding festivities, which locals identified as a blatant example of socioeconomic inequality and overtourism. Venetians have become fed up with the idea that their city, which is already challenged by mass tourism and decadent events, prioritises billionaires while ignoring the residents. The spectacle of the Bezos wedding, organised on a superyacht and in historic and public places, inflamed anger over private ownership of public spaces and the interruption of daily life.

Environmental activists, housing advocates, and citizens criticised the extravagant display for exacerbating gentrification, pollution, and erosion of Venice's cultural identity. Protest signs featuring "No Space for Bezos, hung gloriously weary behind the protesters, while boat parades relished across the canals with resounding individual and collective proclamations of discontent against the commodification of their formerly public space. For many, the protest was about much more than Bezos; it was about reclaiming the city from elite control and the welfare rights of real residents.

Venice officials, including Mayor Luigi Brugnaro and regional governor Luca Zaia, defended Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez's wedding, describing it as a significant economic boost for the city. They argue that celebrity weddings, domestic tourists, and luxury significance bring money to the town; Brugnaro estimated an income of approximately €48 million from private jet traffic, hotel bookings, catering and temporary employment for local workers. Officials also assured that the wedding celebrations will not affect other residents and tourists travelling through the public transit or shopping in the city.

A local Venetian also posted on TikTok supporting this perspective, noting that many small businesses such as flower shops, boat drivers, gondola drivers and artisan shops benefit positively from the wedding! The local TikToker claimed that while events like this tend to be exclusive, special events like this are the kind of income in an area where tourism is the only sustainable income. For some local Venetians, this wedding and the new private, luxury economy turned into a survival and opportunity economy. Protestors demonstrated vehemently against the wedding and wealth. At the same time, the alternative local perspective shows what the city is negotiating between its identity as a city site and the economic benefit of wealth.

The Wedding in Numbers

Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez's wedding price tag of around ₹430 crore may seem like pocket change for one of the world's wealthiest billionaires. Still, the couple appears to be aware of the optics of spending so much money in a city where families cannot afford basic needs. Instead of gifts, it has been reported that they requested guests spend money on any charities of their choice or any heritage project. They also demonstrated goodwill by sourcing traditional crafts, floral arrangements, and venue decorations locally with advocates of Venice. They may have a very extravagant wedding, but if this is all they have done since donating, it could help offset some of the criticism, as they have at least attempted to give back to the community and the city's cultural legacy.

Multiple sources confirm that Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez are already married in the United States after signing a multi-million-dollar prenup. The high-profile couple, who have arranged a three-day, ten-million-dollar wedding bash, has received reports that they did not apply to marry in Venice. Sources informed The Post that they were married before their elaborate ceremony on Friday on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore.

The Legacy & Local Lens

The lavish wedding of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez has initiated a larger discussion about the future of Venice. For some, this is a positive event: there is international visibility, spending will rise, and there is renewed attention on the city’s artisans. Local craftspeople, hoteliers, and service workers have benefited from this windfall of luxury spending, and city officials argue that events like these provide significant benefits for an economy dependent on tourism. There is a far larger group that sees another picture altogether. They view the wedding as an embarrassment, a blatant display of elitism—not just a billionaire renting a historic city for a personal spectacle, but one more event that will displace the residents of Venice. Despite the individual events producing smaller pockets of wealth, critics have full recognition that Venice is overly reliant on tourism.

The argument is that public space is being converted into private pleasure without considering sustainability, and it is unclear what can be done. Groups have vowed to mobilise against the Bezos party, promising to blockade Venice's canals and demonstrate in front of the primary transportation ports. For these Venetians, this is not only about one wedding; they hope to reclaim their city from the clutches of commodification and make it clear to visitors that Venice is not for sale.

The Takeaway

Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez's wedding in Venice has become more than a celebrity spectacle; it has become a cultural moment laden with symbolism, economics, and local sentiment. It is a rare windfall for supporters - many jobs, positive global media attention, and goodwill gestures. Many Venetians, from florists to gondoliers to luxury hotel workers and artisans, benefit directly from the deluge of elite guests and the accompanying media fuss.

The couple has also asked for charitable donations and gifts to be donated to heritage protection, adding a philanthropic underpinning to their rite. Yet for detractors, the Venetian wedding is only the latest instalment in Venice's ongoing commodification. It shows how the city's beauty and storied past are constantly being leveraged for monetary gain, prestige, and consumption while displacing local citizens. The canal blockades and protest banners are not solely confronting one wedding but demonstrating a city struggling to assert its soul while being exploited in the global marketplace.

For Bezos and Sánchez, the event marks a fairy-tale ending: a notable union with extravagance, a 30-carat diamond, and a guest list filled with celebrities and other notables. But while the extravagance is evidence of their fairy-tale ending, a more critical story lurks beneath the shiny surface. This wedding has become a prism for refracting the city of Venice's primary dilemmas--preservation vs. profit, culture vs. commercialisation. The couple's "I do", whether seen as a financial boon or a civic tragedy, will have a lasting aftermath--not only for their lives, but for a city that has become suspended in time, water, history and the weight of the world's attention.