Venice’s most guarded secret: Inside the Bezos-Sanchez wedding plans
CNN
From the date to the guest list, possible venues and the bridal gown, the rumor mill is spinning at a rapid pace. Here’s what we know,
Plagued by the looming threat of disruptive protests, the upcoming Venetian wedding of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and former news anchor Lauren Sanchez — which is expected to be a lavish, multimillion-dollar affair — may be one of the most anticipated and closely guarded events to be held in the floating city of love. Spokespeople for the couple, who arrived in the city on Wednesday, remain tight-lipped and one guest told CNN they signed an NDA, but a lid cannot be kept on widespread speculation about every detail of the celebrations, which are expected to take place from Thursday to Saturday this week. At Harry’s Bar, a fabled institution that once counted Ernest Hemingway among its customers, the waiters are hoping some of the 200 guests — a mix of A-list celebrities, political dignitaries and powerful business executives — might stop in for one of their famous Bellini cocktails. Whether or not Bezos will bring his yet-unnamed groomsmen there, as George Clooney did when he married Amal Alamuddin in 2014, is anyone’s guess. “We hope so,” one of the waiters told CNN. “We can’t divulge anyone who has made a reservation. We protect the privacy of all of our guests, not just the billionaires.” From the date to the guest list, possible venues and the bridal gown, the rumor mill is spinning at a rapid pace. Proceedings are being overseen by boutique event planners Lanza and Baucina, the Italian duo who transformed Venice’s Grand Canal into a red carpet for the Clooneys’ glitzy wedding. Protesters believe there’s no space for a Bezos wedding in Venice, but the company has insisted that its plans are respectful of the city and the unique set of challenges it faces as one of the most overpopulated tourist sites in Europe. “Rumors of ‘taking over’ the city are entirely false and diametrically opposed to our goals and to reality,” they said in a statement shared with CNN.
