THE Kardashians are leading the world’s A-listers flocking to Venice for Jeff Bezos and his bride Lauren Sanchez’s ultra-rich wedding of the century.
Private jets have been landing in Italy as some of the globe’s most famous faces fill grand hotels on the city built on water – ready for the celebrations.
Kim Kardashian, sister Khloe and their momager Kris have already been seen boarding taxi boats to reach the city ahead of the anticipated wedding.
Kim is a good pal to bride Lauren, 55, and attended her mega hen do weekend in Paris alongside pop sensation Katy Perry in May – costing roughly £500,000.
The Kardashians were spotted hugging movie star Orlando Bloom, who shares daughter Daisy with Katy as the pair battle through divorce rumours.
Other extremely high-profile guests including Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka are to be pouring into the city of love for the occasion.
Oprah Winfrey has already been seen departing from Marco Polo Airport, with other famous faces believed to be checking into one of Venice’s most luxurious hotels include Bill Gates, Eva Longoria and Leonardo DiCaprio.
CBS This Morning anchor Gayle King – who blasted off into space with Lauren on the Blue Origin flight in April – has also arrived to watch the billionaire couple wed.
American football legend Tom Brady has been pictured keeping a low profile as he boards a water taxi in sunglasses and a cap.
At least 95 private planes have requested permission to land at Venice’s Marco Polo airport, local media reports.
Tonight roughly 200 of the world’s wealthiest and most famous faces will gather at the 15th-century Madonna dell’Orto church in Venice for the wedding’s first day.
They will then head to the Venetian island of San Giovanni Evangelista for a sumptuous banquet.
And that is just a slice of what is to come.
The five-star Aman Venice, where Jeff and Lauren will be staying and where suites cost as much as £10,000 a night, has been fully booked out for the occasion, as have several other high-end hotels.
And they are not the only businesses profiting from the Bezos bonanza, with around 80 per cent of provisions for the wedding apparently being sourced locally.
Today may be the official start to proceedings, but celebrations have already been taking place 160 miles away, on board Jeff’s £370million superyacht Koru, which is anchored off the Croatian island of Cres.
$500m superyacht, $32k-night-hotels & a $2m ring… inside the Bezos wedding of the century in world’s most beautiful city
The yacht was supposed to be a focal point for the three-day event in Venice, but thanks to heightened security measures, it is staying put in Croatia.
According to insiders, there had to be last-minute changes to some wedding plans following the US bombing raid on Iran and the threat of the war in the Middle East escalating.
Bezos, 61, who is worth £165billion, and his billionaire friends are potential American targets, making his over-exposed yacht too much of a risk.
The ceremony tomorrow promises to be a spectacular and sumptuous affair fit for the third richest man in the world.
Earlier this week, construction workers were seen building a white cover above the breathtaking amphitheatre at San Giorgio Maggiore, guaranteeing privacy from drones.
Once Mr and Mrs Bezos have made things official there, the party will dine out in style, with the requisite fireworks launched to seal the deal.
Closing the epic three-day event will be a grand ball on Saturday at the Arsenale, the city’s ancient shipyard.
The original plan was to end up at the city’s majestic Scuola Grande della Misericordia building in the centre, but the site has been deemed “logistically unfeasible” given the need for high security.
The Arsenale will see a performance by opera singer Matteo Bocelli, son of Andrea Bocelli.
As for the dress, it is widely believed that previously married mum-of-three Lauren will plump for Dolce & Gabbana for the ceremony itself.
She is close friends with the sartorial duo, who even featured her son Nikko, 24, in a fashion show last year.
She and Jeff were then spotted visiting their iconic store in Milan during March for an apparent dress fitting.
Nevertheless, multiple events call for multiple outfits and, according to insiders, designers Versace and Oscar de la Renta are also on the docket.
The latter was responsible for Lauren’s line of Blue Origin spacesuits that she and her all-female space-mates wore for their 11-minute rocket trip in May.
Lauren had intended that adventure to empower women by gathering a gaggle of girls, including singer Katy Perry and TV anchor Gayle King, and launching into space on a flight funded by Jeff’s space exploration firm.
But the journey was slammed for being just a self-congratulatory vanity project.
News of Lauren and Bezos’ relationship emerged in 2019 while they were both still married to other people.
Lauren’s then husband, Hollywood agent Patrick Whitesell, had introduced the pair.
Both Jeff and Lauren say their respective marriages had secretly ended before they got together.
They both then divorced their spouses, with Jeff’s ex-wife MacKenzie Scott — with whom he has four children — walking away with Amazon stock worth £36billion, making her one of the richest women in the world.
Bezos proposed to Lauren with a 30-carat ring worth a reported £3.6million in 2023.
Which guests are rumoured to be attending Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez’ wedding?
- Oprah Winfrey
- Kim Kardashian
- Kris Jenner
- Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom
- Eva Longoria
- Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner
- Karlie Kloss and Joshua Kushner
- Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg
- Brian Grazer
- Leonardo DiCaprio
- Brooks Nader and Camila Morrone
- Joshua Kushner
- Donald Trump Jr. and Bettina Anderson
- Tiffany Trump and Michael Boulos
