The union is imminent. At the end of June, one of the richest men in the world will marry former TV journalist Láuren Sanchez in Venice. If several million euros will be disbursed by the couple and hundreds of stars should be present, the wedding raises a strong controversy in the City of the Doges.
In a relationship since the end of 2018, Jeff Bezos and Láuren Sanchez got engaged in 2023. After several months of preparation, the wedding is about to take place during a monumental three-day celebration. The bride and groom chose Venice to say yes, which did not fail to provoke local reactions.
An ecological scandal
Demonstrations, banners, threats… Since the announcement of the wedding venue for Jeff Bezos and Láuren Sanchez, the anger of some residents has not subsided. And for good reason. From Wednesday 25 to Sunday 29 June, Venice will be stormed by the cream of cinema, music, business and tech. We can already imagine: these few days of festivities should not be half-measure.
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If part of the population rejoices in the influence that this marriage will bring and the financial gain it should entail – Jeff Bezos ranking among the top 3 richest men in the world -, others cry scandal. The inhabitants are outraged to see their city become a venue for excessive shows. While Venice has fallen by 15 cm over the entire last century and the city is carrying out anti-overtourism actions to preserve the place, this marriage could worsen an already fragile situation. We are already imagining yachts moored at the port while the Italian city prohibits the arrival of large ships…
The mayor will be pleased to welcome the guests
Besides the ecological impact, the anti-marriage Bezos/Sanchez invoke political arguments. Stefano Micheletti, activist of the Venetian collective “No place for Bezos”, accuses the businessman of “financing Donald Trump’s global obscurantism” and “trying to conquer the Moon by starting with praising Venice, which he confuses with Las Vegas.
In the streets of the City of the Doges, one can thus see posters “No space for Bezos” and images representing Bezos’ head on a rocket, as if to tell the billionaire to return into space, far from Venice. Demonstrations have already been orchestrated and residents even threaten to block the city by lying in the alleys and throwing themselves into the water.
“Venice Is Not for Sale”: Massive Local Protests from the Rialto Bridge against Bezos’ Opulent Wedding. pic.twitter.com/I3X989DzzN
— Reels (@benditochicas) June 18, 2025
Luigi Brugnaro, the mayor of Venice elected with the support of the extreme right League in 2015, is indignant at these agitations. “Protesting against those who bring wealth [to Venice] is an absolute shame” he denounces in the newspaper Il Gazzettino. The mayor will welcome with open arms the couple and their guests and said in a statement that ‘the city cooperates closely with the organizers to ensure that the event fully respects the city of Venice’.
The new wedding of the century?
According to some sources, the couple would have rented all the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, located in front of the Doge’s Palace. The ceremonies could be celebrated in the island’s basilica and in the Misericordia on June 28.
On the guest side, everyone from the top class should be invited even if the precise list has not been communicated. We expect the presence of Leonardo di Caprio, George Clooney, Angelina Jolie, Lady Gaga, the Kardashian clan, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Bernard Arnault, Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr. or even Katy Perry, with whom Láuren Sanchez flew into space a few weeks ago in Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’s space company. Five-star guests who should spark ultra-heightened security.
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It is of course the cost of marriage that makes the public speak. Estimated at about 10 million dollars, the event which would count 200/250 guests could reach much more depending on the festivities. However, it will be necessary to align the tickets to compete with the astronomical price of the wedding of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant, both descendants of great Indian families. All the parties bringing together several thousand guests in July 2024 would have cost 600 million dollars, or 0.5% of Anant Ambani’s fortune.
Read also : Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s pre-wedding: one luxurious party after another
Featured photo : © Instagram Lauren Sanchez
