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Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez ‘s wedding festivities are officially underway.
On Wednesday, the soon-to-be newlyweds were seen arriving in Venice, Italy via helicopter.
Both were all smiles as they walked away from the air carrier arm-in-arm.
JEFF BEZOS, LAUREN SANCHEZ TO WED DURING THREE-DAY VENICE EXTRAVAGANZA THAT’S SPARKING LOCAL FURY
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez are all smiles as they arrive in Venice ahead of their much-anticipated wedding. (COBRA TEAM / BACKGRID)
Later, the couple were photographed arriving at the Aman Hotel via water-taxi.
As she stepped off, a glowing Sanchez turned to the crowd to give a quick wave.
According to multiple reports, the couple decided to change one of their wedding venues in Venice because of security concerns and possible protests.
Lauren Sánchez waves to onlookers ahead of her upcoming wedding to Jeff Bezos. (Getty Images)
Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezos arrives at the Aman Hotel in Venice ahead of his wedding to Lauren Sanchez. (MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)
The couple had planned to hold a wedding party at the historic Scuola Grande della Misericordia in the Cannaregio section of the city, but are now said to be moving it to the harder-to-reach Arsenale, a former shipyard, which is completely surrounded by water and only reachable by boat when connecting bridges are raised, BBC News and Reuters reported.
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A number of celebrities are invited to the wedding festivities, which remain a secret but are expected to kick off on Thursday and end Saturday in the picturesque Italian city.
Jared Kushner and wife Ivanka Trump enter a water taxi after arriving at Marco Polo airport on Jun. 24, 2025 in Venice, Italy. (Luigi Iorio/GC Images)
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner arrived in Italy on Tuesday ahead of the festivities.
The couple traveled by boat from the Marco Polo airport in Venice to the St. Regis hotel. Trump wore an off-white cropped top with a matching long skirt. The outfit featured red-orange detailing.
The arrivals spark resemblance to George Clooney and wife Amal’s Venice wedding in 2014.
The power couple were famously photographed riding a water-taxi ahead of their nuptials, which included an impressive guest list of A-list celebrities.
George Clooney and his wife Amal cruise the Grand Canal after leaving the Aman luxury Hotel in Venice, Italy, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2014. (AP Photo/Luigi Costantini)
As guests continue to arrive for the Bezos-Sanchez wedding, more and more Venetian citizens have voiced their frustrations over the event that could possibly pose a threat to a city that is already impacted by mass tourism.
However, despite the ongoing backlash, the couple’s wedding planners told Fox News Digital that Bezos and Sanchez specifically instructed them to minimize the disruptions to the best of their ability out of respect to the locals.
“As event organizers who have been working in Venice for over 24 years, we feel obliged to set the record straight given the misinformation, untruths and misunderstandings circulating about the Bezos wedding,” the team at Lanza & Baucina Limited said in a statement. “From the outset, instructions from our client and our own guiding principles were abundantly clear: the minimizing of any disruption to the city, the respect for its residents and institutions and the overwhelming employment of locals in the crafting of the events.
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Lauren Sánchez included a photo of her kissing Jeff Bezos on the cheek in her fall photo dump posted in December 2024. (Lauren Sanchez/Instagram)
“Rumors of ‘taking over’ the city are entirely false and diametrically opposed to our goals and to reality,” the statement continued. “No exaggerated quantity of water taxis or gondolas have ever been booked, the number of taxis reserved being proportionate for the number of guests. Before the recent news of protests arose, we had worked for there to be minimal negative impact or disruption to the lives of Venetians and the city’s visitors.
“We have always acknowledged the wider debate and critical issues surrounding the city’s future, and from the outset our client has been honored to support the city and its all-important lagoon through non-profit organizations and associated projects,” the statement concluded.
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Mayor Luigi Brugnaro told the Associated Press that the city is “very proud.”
“We are very proud,” Brugnaro said. “I don’t know if I will have time [to meet Bezos and Sánchez], or if he will, to meet and shake hands, but it’s an honor that they chose Venice. Venice once again reveals itself to be a global stage.”
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Fox News Digital’s Emily Trainham, Lauryn Overhultz and Brie Stimson contributed to this post.
