Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez wrap up three-day Venice wedding extravaganza

Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez wrap up three-day Venice wedding extravaganza

It’s been both the most public and secretive wedding of the year.

Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez concluded their three-day-long Venetian extravaganza on Saturday evening with a celebration at the Arsenale, a former medieval shipyard. The pair was seen traveling via boat to the venue, which hosts the annual Venice Biennale, with reporters and paparazzi in tow.

CNN’s Melissa Bell reported from a boat speeding alongside the couple’s, as they waved on. Sanchez was seen in a pink gown, later revealed by Vogue magazine to be designed by Atelier Versace, while Bezos was in a suit and matching black shirt.

Earlier in the day, the bride and groom were spotted heading into Harry’s Bar, a fabled institution that once counted Ernest Hemingway among its customers. Meanwhile protestors gathered at the city’s train station for a march.

A secretive ceremony

On Friday, the Amazon billionaire and former journalist wed in a private ceremony held on the secluded, historic San Giorgio Maggiore island in the San Marco sestiere. The celebrity guest list included the Kardashian-Jenner family, Bill Gates, Karlie Kloss, Oprah Winfrey and Usher. The approximately 200 guests have seemingly honored a 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 demonstrators have rallied against what they perceive to be a takeover of the idyllic Italian archipelago city by some of the world’s wealthiest people.

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 the island, 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.

Oprah Winfrey departs for the final event on Saturday. Luigi Costantini/APKendall Jenner, Kris Jenner and Kylie Jenner enroute to the Saturday’s finale event. Luigi Costantini/APSome of the guests, like Usher, were pictured departing for the event in pajama- and lingerie-inspired outfits, seemingly in keeping with reports of a thematic dress code. Luigi Costantini/AP

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 Friday evening singing “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Elvis Presley.