Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez have been pictured arriving in Venice ahead of their blockbuster wedding.
The multi-billionaire Amazon founder, 61, was seen stepping off a boat alongside his glamorous girlfriend, 55, at the luxury Aman Hotel earlier today.
After being dropped off by water taxi to the hotel’s private jetty, the couple were also joined by around 50 other of their closest guests and friends.
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez began their wedding celebrations with a drinks reception with a playlist of romantic music, blasting More Than A Woman by the Bee Gees. Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez then continued to play tunes like Nina Simone’s I’m Feeling Good, Lovely Day by Bill Withers and Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison.
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez mixed the hits with a selection of traditional Italian music as they prepared for their big day.
Earlier in the day, in the private garden of the hotel, which is surrounded by a 10ft brick wall, staff could be heard working to erect marquees, ready for a weekend of celebrations.
They also put a VIP jetty up outside the venue for guests to use when they arrived. Huge security staff also surrounded the property, around five or six men at each entrance.
The tech magnate and journalist have reportedly invited about 200 guests to their multi-million dollar nuptials in the Italian city.
Around 90 private jets are set to land in local airports this week, bringing A-listers from show business, politics and finance to the widely-dubbed ‘wedding of the century’.
The celebrations are expected to kick off on Thursday and end on Saturday.
But the historic venue that Bezos and Sanchez chose for part of their $20 million bash is covered in scaffolding..
The lavish three-day event will feature a party held within the fabulous 15th-century Madonna dell’Orto church in Venice’s quaint Cannareggio district tomorrow night.
Venice City Hall issued a directive on Wednesday cordoning off the area, isolating guests from activists who have been protesting for weeks that the celebrations will turn the city of gondolas and palazzi into a private amusement park for the rich.
Bezos, who remains the executive chair of e-commerce giant Amazon and sits at number 4 on Forbes’ billionaires list, got engaged to Sanchez in 2023, four years after the collapse of his 25-year marriage to Mackenzie Scott.
In preparation, security guards have now blocked off entrances to the closure where the party will be held, but what guests will first see when they arrive is the iconic bell tower covered in scaffolding.
This has left locals speculating that Bezos may have booked the venue based on seeing pictures on Google without realising it is being repaired.