At the Bezos-Sanchez wedding: Kim Kardashian, Leonardo DiCaprio and Oprah join the $50-million festivities in Venice

On Thursday night, celebrities gathered for a kick-off event at the medieval Madonna dell’Orto cloister. A traffic ordinance issued from Venice City Hall, barred pedestrian foot traffic around the 14th-century cathedral, which houses artworks from the Venetian painter Tinoretto, from late afternoon until midnight.

In line with the event’s tightly guarded details, guests appeared to adhere to a social media blackout, with little activity on their feeds except for a few glimpses of the city itself and the stormy weather overnight.

The three-day affair is expected to take place from Thursday to Saturday, with some 200 guests joining the billionaire Amazon founder and the former journalist in celebrating their marriage after a two-year engagement.

The events are expected to cost some 40-48 million euros ($46.5-55.6 million), accordingto Reuters. Venice tourism councillor Simone Venturini told CNN that the city was expected to profit some “€20-30 million ($23.4-35.1 million) for the parties and organizations and the events” during the week.

The extravaganza’s tentpole event is expected tonight on the island of San Giorgio, according to Reuters. It remains unclear when the couple will legally wed (or if they already have, prior to this week, in the US). A spokesperson for the mayor’s office in Venice told CNN on Thursday that the city has not received an official request from the couple, meaning the events this week will be ceremonial and not legally binding.

Celebrities come out

A barrage of A-listers were photographed in the city on Thursday. Kim Kardashian arrived with her sister Khloe and mother Kris Jenner; they were seen later in the day chatting with actor Orlando Bloom. Oprah Winfrey and former NFL quarterback Tom Brady were also among VIPs boarding water taxis at the airport, while Bill Gates and Kendall and Kylie Jenner were also spotted. Ivanka Trump, Jared Kusher and their children have already spent a few days in the city, with Trump posting on Instagram, “Ready to celebrate the love story of our friends,” along with a pic of her hotel suite bearing the name “Dolce Vita.”

 

By Thursday afternoon, celebrity guests were seen leaving the Gritti Palace Hotel, dressed up for the first evening’s events. Kim Kardashian opted for skintight snakeskin, while Trump was pictured in a cherry blossom-motif cocktail dress by Oscar de la Renta. The bride wore a shimmering brocade corset dress from Schiaparelli’s most recent couture collection.

The day’s sightings also included Usher in a cream suit and low-cut burgundy dress shirt, as well as Leonardo DiCaprio shielding his face with a black cap.

A shape-shifting schedule

With the threat of disruptive protests ever-present, the venues and plans have been kept fluid.

Venice’s famed waterways and winding streets have hosted an array of high-profile weddings including François-Henri Pinault and Salma Hayek-Pinault in 2009, George and Amal Clooney in 2014, and Alexandre Arnault and Géraldine Guyot in 2021. But protestors associated with the group No Space for Bezos have already shifted the impending wedding plans, with their threat of canal blockades moving one of the weekend’s events from a grand, centrally located space to a former shipyard on Venice’s perimeter, according to the group.

 

 

The complex wedding is being orchestrated by Lanza and Baucina — the planners who similarly oversaw the Clooneys’ star-studded Venetian union — who told CNN that their clients’ instructions have been to minimize “any disruption to the city,” while insisting they use an overwhelming number of local suppliers to help craft the event.

 

 

The couple is sourcing some 80% of wedding provisions from local vendors, including pastries from the Rosa Salva pastry shop, the oldest in Venice, and gifts from Murano glassware designer Laguna B.

Around 30 of the city’s elite water taxis, out of 280 total, are also thought to be reserved. One taxi driver told CNN he has been booked from June 25 through June 30 for “a big wedding,” but declined to say more on the subject. Gondolas have also been put on hold, with the city’s gondola association confirming they are ready for the event.

In pictures: Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos’ Venetian wedding

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Fashion on show

During the festivities, Sanchez is expected to turn an array of luxury looks. Spotted leaving the five-star Aman hotel on Wednesday by luxury water taxi, she opted for a vintage Alexander McQueen one-shoulder gown for one of her first appearances in the city.

Details of Sanchez’s wedding gown will no doubt be one of the event’s most closely guarded secrets. Luxury Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana is the strongest contender — with Domenico Dolce photographed at Venice’s outdoor Riva Lounge on Thursday — though Oscar de la Renta also being floated as a brand she may turn to for one of her many looks this week. Last year, Sanchez sat front row for Dolce & Gabbana’s Alta Sartoria show in Sardinia as her son Nikko Gonzalez walked the runway, making it a family affair. She was also photographed for Bezos’s 60th birthday in a sheer gown by the Italian label, though she opted for Oscar de la Renta for her 2024 Met Gala debut and for the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in March.

This story will continue to be updated.

CNN’s Sharon Braithwaite contributed to this report.