Kim Kardashian, Oprah among celebrities in Venice as celebrations get underway

With Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos firmly planted in Venice, and VIP guests arriving thick and fast, celebrations surrounding the couple’s highly anticipated wedding can commence.

The three-day affair is expected to take place from Thursday to Saturday, when some 200 guests will join 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), according to Reuters. On Thursday, 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.

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.

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, Sanchez opted for a vintage Alexander McQueen one-shoulder gown for one of her first appearances in the city. On Thursday, she wore a shimmering brocade corset dress from Schiaparelli’s most recent couture collection.

Celebrities incoming

Ivanka Trump, alongside husband Jared Kushner and their children, was photographed arriving on Wednesday, while Kim Kardashian was pictured arriving on Thursday 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 have also been spotted during their arrivals.

A shape-shifting schedule

With the threat of disruptive protests ever-present, the venues and plans may be kept fluid, but official events are expected to kick off Thursday night at the medieval Madonna dell’Orto cloister, according to Reuters. A traffic ordinance from Venice City Hall appears to back that up, with pedestrian foot traffic barred around the 14th-century cathedral, which houses a number of artworks from the famed Venetian painter Tintoretto, from late afternoon until midnight.

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 ***ociated with the group No Space for Bezos have already shifted the impending wedding plans, with their threat of cblock 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 gl***ware designer Laguna B.

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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 ***ociation confirming they are ready for the event.

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.

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