Amazon boss Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez celebrate 'wedding of the century' in Venice, Italy, with their A-list friends
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and former journalist Lauren Sanchez have exchanged vows in Venice as they celebrated their wedding with dozens of their A-list friends.
Days of build up led to the big moment for the couple on Friday afternoon (local time) as they emerged separately from a luxurious hotel in the Floating City's Grand Canal.
Sanchez, 55, stepped out from a large tent set up outside the Aman hotel and waved to onlookers and the world's paparazzi before she boarded a sleek motor boat.
The former journalist wore a short-sleeved, cream, fitted skirt suit, with shades and a head scarf to protect her from the blistering summer sun, Reuters reported.
Bezos, 61, appeared about two hours later in a black tuxedo and also hopped on a vessel for a short trip to the small island of San Giorgio Maggiore where festivities were held.
The couple's VIP guests, who were staying at luxury hotels across Venice, then all departed for the event which has been dubbed as the "wedding of the century".
Among the celebrities in attendance included actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Orlando Bloom, singers Usher and Ellie Goulding, as well as the Kardashian-Jenner reality family.
NFL legend Tom Brady, Oprah Winfrey, Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner, Bill Gates, and Queen Rania of Jordan were also present.
Guests were heavily protected by security guards during festivities.
Later at San Giorgio, Bezos and Sanchez exchanged vows in a 25-minute ceremony, which will have no legal status under Italian law, a senior city hall official told Reuters.
It suggests the couple may have already legally wed in the United States before flying to Venice, avoiding the bureaucracy associated with an Italian marriage.
Guests were heard cheering and clapping after the pair said "I do".
A choir then sung Whitney Houston's Higher Love.
Then the reception kicked off to the background of Matteo Bocelli, the son of Andrea Bocelli, singing Elvis' 'I Can't Help Falling in Love With You'.
According to the Daily Mail, the guests then dined on a $2,000-a-head menu before concluding with a show-stopping cake by renowned French pastry chef Cédric Grolet.
The festivities, estimated to cost around AUD$76 million, will culminate on Saturday with a party where reports Lady Gaga and Elton John are set to perform.
Bezos and Sanchez have drawn local and global attention after they flew into the Floating City this week ahead of a three-day extravaganza to celebrate their love in Italy.
Festivites began on Thursday night in the cloisters of Madonna dell'Orto, a medieval church that hosts masterpieces by 16th-century painter Tintoretto.
"This magical place has gifted us unforgettable memories," the bride and groom said on their wedding invitation, in which they asked for "no gifts" and pledged charity donations for three Venetian institutions. Their donations are worth AUD$5.4 million.
There has been anger among some locals and local activists of Bezos' presence.
Giulia Cacopardo, a 28-year-old representative of the "No Space for Bezos" movement, complained that the needs of ordinary people were being neglected in a city that is a tourist magnet and fast depopulating largely due to the soaring cost of living.
Venice's city centre has less than 50,000 residents, compared to almost 100,000 in the late 1970s.
"When you empty a city of its inhabitants, you can turn it into a stage for big events. (But) the money that Bezos spends on this wedding does not end up in the pockets of Venetians. The owners of luxury hotels are not Venetians," she told Reuters.
Ms Cacopardo was one of 30-40 activists who staged a protest in St Mark's Square on Thursday, chanting "We are the 99 per cent" as a masked couple posed as bride and groom and one man climbed a pole to unfurl a banner reading: "The 1% ruins the world."
Bezos' net worth is estimated to be more than USD$225 billion, after creating Amazon, the world's largest e-commerce, cloud computing and digital streaming company.
The anti-Bezos front is also planning a march on Saturday, and their activities have already led local authorities to step up security and move the location of the closing party to a more secluded part of Venice, the Arsenale former shipyard.
Charlotte Perkins, an Australian tourist, said she could understand the locals' resentment at their city being treated as a celebrity playground.
"I'd probably feel the same if I lived here," she said.
But politicians, hoteliers and some other Venice residents are happy about the wedding, saying such events do more to support the local economy than the multitudes of day-trippers who normally overrun the city.
-with Reuters
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