Topline
Journalist Lauren Sánchez was spotted in Venice on Friday, hours before her wedding to Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, as celebrities and billionaires have descended on the Italian city for the extravagant—and controversial—wedding.
Lauren Sanchez in Venice on Friday. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Sánchez was spotted sporting sunglasses and a head scarf while leaving a hotel in Venice, Italy, on Friday afternoon, hours before she is set to marry Bezos on San Giorgio Island.
Much of the Kardashian family has arrived in Venice, including billionaire entrepreneur Kim Kardashian, Khloé Kardashian, Kendall and Kylie Jenner and their mother, Kris Jenner, who arrived with her partner Corey Gamble.
Billionaire Oprah Winfrey and journalist Gayle King, who joined Sánchez on Blue Origin’s star-studded and controversial flight to the edge of space in April, were photographed arriving in Venice on Thursday.
Some A-list actors have been spotted in Venice, including Leonardo DiCaprio and his girlfriend Vittoria Ceretti, Sydney Sweeney and Orlando Bloom, who appeared to arrive without Katy Perry after multiple tabloids reported the couple split after nine years together (TMZ reported Perry, who also joined Sánchez on Blue Origin’s space flight and attended her bachelorette party, was invited to the wedding).
NFL star Tom Brady was photographed boarding a water taxi outside Venice’s Marco Polo Airport on Thursday.
Billionaires including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Barry Diller, chairman and founder of the internet and media conglomerate IAC, were also photographed in Venice.
Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, were pictured arriving at Marco Polo Airport and boarding a water taxi Tuesday.
Other attendees who have touched down in Venice include investor Michael Kives, known for his celebrity connections and for mentoring Sam Bankman-Fried; Dolce & Gabbana founder and billionaire Domenico Dolce; and Queen Rania of Jordan, wife of the country’s King Abdullah II.
Kendall and Kylie Jenner in Venice on Thursday. (Photo by Ernesto Ruscio/GC Images)
Khloé Kardashian and Kris Jenner in Venice, Italy on Friday. (Photo by Andrea Cremascoli/GC Images)
Sydney Sweeney in Venice, Italy on Friday. (Photo by Ernesto Ruscio/GC Images)
Bill Gates and his partner Paula Hurd in Venice on Friday. (Photo by ANDREA PATTARO / AFP) (Photo ... More
Kim Kardashian in Venice on Thursday. (Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)
Leonardo Di Caprio was spotted in Venice on Thursday. (Photo by Ernesto Ruscio/GC Images)
Football star Tom Brady arrives in Venice. (Photo by ANDREA PATTARO/AFP via Getty Images)
Bezos and Sánchez were photographed arriving in Venice on Wednesday. (Photo by Ernesto Ruscio/GC ... More
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner board a water taxi in Venice on Tuesday. (Photo by Luigi Iorio/GC ... More
Bezos invited President Donald Trump to the wedding, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing White House sources, though Trump will not attend because of scheduling conflicts.
Many of the details about the wedding, including the guest list, have largely been kept under wraps. TMZ reported celebrities who received invites include Katy Perry and Gayle King, who accompanied Sànchez on Blue Origin’s flight to the edge of space, as well as Oprah Winfrey, Kris Jenner, Kim Kardashian, Jewel, Karlie Kloss and Joshua Kushner. Tony Gonzalez, a former NFL tight end and Sànchez’s ex-boyfriend, with whom she has a son, will attend the wedding, TMZ reported. City officials said the guest list for Bezos’ wedding is limited to 200 people.
Bezos and Sánchez will get married on Friday, the centerpiece of an extravagant three-day celebration. The couple will tie the knot on San Giorgio Island, a small locale known for its centuries-old church that boasts a bell tower in a ceremony featuring a performance by Matteo Bocelli, son of opera singer Andrea Bocelli. The festivities began Thursday with a party at the Madonna dell’Orto cathedral, and the celebration is expected to conclude Saturday at Venice’s Arsenale, historically a shipyard and armory. Protests by locals, who are frustrated with overtourism and Bezos’ links to President Donald Trump, forced Bezos to move a wedding party from a central Venetian nightlife area to a more isolated part of the city, Reuters reported.
Protests May Force Billionaire Bezos To Move Venice Wedding Venue (Forbes)
‘No Space For Bezos’: Venice Locals Protest Billionaire Jeff Bezos As Italian Wedding Looms (Forbes)