It was a wedding weekend to remember. On June 27, a who’s who of Hollywood A-listers, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Orlando Bloom, Oprah Winfrey and Kim Kardashian, royalty and billionaires descended on Venice, Italy, to celebrate the marriage of Amazon mogul Jeff Bezos and Emmy-winning journalist Lauren Sánchez. No expense was spared for the over-the-top, three-day affair (journalist Paula Froelich estimated it cost around $9.5 to 11 million), which kicked off with a welcome dinner party near the Madonna Dell’Orto church, followed by a reception on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore the next day.
Sánchez, 55, spent the last two years envisioning her dream “I do’s” — in 2024, she revealed on Today that she’s “just like every other bride, so I do have a Pinterest board.” She and Bezos, 61, went public in early 2019 and got engaged in May 2023 aboard their 417-foot sailing yacht Koru (he popped the question with a 30-carat ring). “I’m gonna be a mess on the day, but the best kind of mess,” she told Vogue a few weeks before walking down the aisle in custom Dolce & Gabbana, noting that Bezos was “more involved than people think” in the planning process.
Among the 200 guests, 70 were family members, including Sánchez’s sons, Nikko, 24, and Evan, 19, who walked her down the aisle, and her daughter, Ella, 17, her maid of honor. Bezos’ four kids with ex-wife MacKenzie Scott have remained out of the spotlight.
The festivities officially wrapped on June 29, just a few hours after guests were treated to a live performance by Usher at a lavish, pajama-themed blowout bash. “Everyone was partying until the wee hours,” says a source. “Jeff and Lauren danced the night away. They looked so in love.”
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez’s Relationship Timeline
June 26
On Thursday, arriving guests were gifted goody bags containing a sampling of local fare, Vogue reported. Many attendees — including the Kardashians, Sydney Sweeney and Jerry and Jessica Seinfeld — shacked up at the Gritti Palace. TMZ stated that the landmark location was the weekend hotspot, especially for the bachelors, like newly single Bloom and Tom Brady. (The NFL legend lives near Bezos in Miami’s ultra-exclusive Indian Creek Island community.)
That evening, Sánchez — who told Vogue she’d lost three and a half pounds prior to her big day by banning alcohol and cutting down on salt — wore a Schiaparelli couture corset dress to a welcome event held at a closed cloister near the 15th-century Madonna Dell’Orto church in the Cannaregio district. Guests were treated to pasta dishes by Fabrizio Mellini, the chef behind Michelin-starred restaurant Quattro Passi, and Neapolitan pizza by Ciro Oliva, a pizza chef at the historic Concettina ai Tre Santi.
June 27
Attendees later gathered on San Giorgio island for the main event, where Sánchez donned her mermaid-style wedding gown. (Her something blue? A secret souvenir from her Blue Origin space flight). “I want it to be a surprise,” she told Vogue of the dress. “As you get a little older, not many things surprise you. I can’t wait to see his face.” The design, which featured hand-appliquéd Italian lace and 180 silk chiffon-covered buttons, was inspired by a look worn by Sophia Loren in the 1958 film Houseboat. “It went from ‘I want a simple, sexy modern dress’ to ‘I want something that evokes a moment,’ and where I am right now,” she told the mag.
Matteo Bocelli, son of legendary tenor Andrea Bocelli, performed during the processional. “It was really beautiful,” a source tells Us of the ceremony. For the wedding dinner, the bride — who also took to Instagram to debut her new married name, Lauren Sánchez Bezos — wore a corseted gown with a sweetheart neckline and then slipped into a cocktail dress by Oscar de la Renta that featured 600 yards of hand-sewn chain and 175,000 crystals for the reception. Men were given Vibi Venezia blue velvet Venetian slippers, while ladies received plush, black open-toe slippers from Amazon.
See What Stars Wore to Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez’s Wedding
June 28
Time to party! The vibe at the couple’s “Dolce Notte” (translation: Sweet Night) soiree — held at the Arsenale di Venezia (a former shipyard) — was “elevated but relaxed,” says a source, noting that “there were big velvet couches and lounge chairs everywhere.” Guests wore lingerie- and pajama-inspired outfits (Sánchez chose a rose pink Atelier Versace number with a bodice adorned with Swarovski crystals, one of 10 outfits she was seen in over the course of the wedding weekend). “Everyone was [dressed on-theme],” says the source, noting that the Seinfelds, Mick Jagger and Bill Gates “were all hanging out and being low-key.”
As DJ Cassidy spun tunes (he did two sets, one with a full orchestra) and Usher performed hits like “Yeah!” and “Lovers and Friends,” an inseparable Sweeney and Jessica Alba (who attended with 17-year-old daughter Honor) “danced all night” together. “It was all about the music and the partying,” dishes the source. Guests fueled up on Italian dishes like pasta and cannolis and kept the festivities going until the early morning. Adds the source, “It was an insane dance party.”
