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Rome (CNN) — Venice is set to be the stage for the highly anticipated nuptials between multi-billionaire Jeff Bezos and his bride-to-be Lauren Sanchez, but even one of the world’s richest people may face a struggle to access the best views in town.
The three-day celebrations will span June 24 to 26, according to according to Luca Zuin, spokesperson for the mayor of Venice, and will reportedly take place on Bezos’ $500-million superyacht, Koru, which will be anchored in the Venice lagoon.
While that may sound like a dream wedding location, restrictions on large ships getting too close to Venice’s historic St. Mark’s square may impede the view.
Bezos’ yacht, at 3,493 gross tons, is far below the 25,000 gross ton maximum for vessels entering the Venice lagoon, but it’s too large to be allowed anywhere near the Grand Canal, the Italian city’s most scenic waterway.
While no details of the ceremony have been confirmed by Bezos or his fiancée, the city confirmed the event in a statement, adding that the event would be manageable with only 200 guests invited.
Several luxury accommodation venues appear poised for an influx of guests over the purported wedding dates. The city’s five major luxury hotels along the Grand Canal, including the Belmond Hotel Cipriani, the St. Regis Venis, the Gritti Palace, the Hotel Danieli and the luxurious Grand Aman Hotel, where George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin celebrated their wedding in 2014, are all almost entirely booked for the last weekend of June, according to calls to the hotels made by CNN.
The hotels would not confirm the occasion or if large blocks of rooms had been reserved.
Space trip
Venice’s exclusive fleet of private water taxis, including the “Amore” famously used by Clooney and Alamuddin to leave the wedding venue, have also been tentatively reserved, according to the Venice water taxi cooperative.
During the Clooney-Alamuddin wedding, VIP guests were ferried in open-water taxis along the Grand Canal as thousands of well wishers and paparazzi stood on the city’s bridges to watch the spectacle yelling “auguri” or best wishes. It’s not clear if there will be the same public viewing opportunities for the Bezos celebrations.
Other details are thin on the ground. The Venice gondola association did not report an uptick in June reservations. Harry’s Bar, one of the most famous spots in the city, would not comment if it would be a venue for any side events.
A spokesperson for the city of Venice could not confirm news of the event, but did say the couple would need to apply for a marriage license well in advance if they were to wed in Italian waters. Some news reports suggest their official ceremony will take place prior to the Venetian event.
Bezos popped the question with a 30-karat diamond ring in 2023 and held an engagement party off the Amalfi Coast near Positano on board his yacht, with Bill Gates, Ari Emanuel, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan and Kris Jenner as guests. Bezos’ superyacht is a regular feature off Italy’s picturesque coast during the summer months.
Before marrying the world’s third richest man, Sanchez, a journalist and aviation expert, will lead her fiancé’s Blue Origin NS-31 space mission with six high-profile women, including herself, Katy Perry and Gayle Young, scheduled for March 31, 2025. Sanchez was so inspired by space flight, she penned a children’s book, “The Fly Who Flew to Space,” in September 2024.
The-CNN-Wire
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