Plagued by the looming threat of disruptive protests, the upcoming Venetian wedding of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and former news anchor Lauren Sanchez — which is expected to be a lavish, multimillion-dollar affair — may be one of the most anticipated and closely guarded events to be held in the floating city of love.

Spokespeople for the couple, who arrived in the city on Wednesday, remain tight-lipped and one guest told CNN they signed an NDA, but a lid cannot be kept on widespread speculation about every detail of the celebrations, which are expected to take place from Thursday to Saturday this week.

At Harry’s Bar, a fabled institution that once counted Ernest Hemingway among its customers, the waiters are hoping some of the 200 guests — a mix of A-list celebrities, political dignitaries and powerful business executives — might stop in for one of their famous Bellini cocktails. Whether or not Bezos will bring his yet-unnamed groomsmen there, as George Clooney did when he married Amal Alamuddin in 2014, is anyone’s guess. “We hope so,” one of the waiters told CNN. “We can’t divulge anyone who has made a reservation. We protect the privacy of all of our guests, not just the billionaires.”

From the date to the guest list, possible venues and the bridal gown, the rumor mill is spinning at a rapid pace.

Moving parts and mounting protests

Proceedings are being overseen by boutique event planners Lanza and Baucina, the Italian duo who transformed Venice’s Grand Canal into a red carpet for the Clooneys’ glitzy wedding.

Protesters believe there’s no space for a Bezos wedding in Venice, but the company has insisted that its plans are respectful of the city and the unique set of challenges it faces as one of the most overpopulated tourist sites in Europe. “Rumors of ‘taking over’ the city are entirely false and diametrically opposed to our goals and to reality,” they said in a statement shared with CNN.

“From the outset, instructions from our client and our own guiding principles were abundantly clear: the minimizing of any disruption to the city.”

Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez arrive in Venice for their wedding

However, the wedding plans themselves may have already been disrupted by the demonstrators’ threat of a canal blockade around one of the rumored venues. The protest group No Space for Bezos claimed victory on Tuesday, alleging that one of the parties will be moved to a venue in the Arsenale, located outside the city center. Once one of Europe’s largest shipyards, parts of the Arsenale have been modernized and is the site of events such as the Venice Biennale. Opposition has also been expressed through banners and tarps strung up around the city by No Space for Bezos and others, including Greenpeace.

The night before, Luca Zaia, president of the surrounding Veneto region, announced that Bezos and Sanchez were donating €1 million ($1.16 million) to the Corila Consortium, an international scientific research group doing work on the Venice lagoon — a gesture of “love and responsibility” toward the city, he said.

Hollywood guests and local sweet treats

The couple is sourcing some 80% of wedding provisions from local vendors, including pastries from the Rosa Salva pastry shop, the oldest in Venice, whose owners told CNN they have been commissioned to create “about 200 goodie bags.”

Murano glassware designer Laguna B also confirmed to CNN that it is creating special party favors. The company declined to share any further details.

Zaia is not concerned about the city’s plans to manage the wedding, telling one local paper, “I repeat, this is a city that handles 150,000 people a day. George Clooney, François-Henri Pinault and Salma Hayek, Alexandre Arnault, Elton John and many others got married here.” He also surmised that the President of the United States, who was in Europe this week for the NATO summit, could conceivably be on the guest list, telling Corriere della Sera, “Of course, Donald Trump could also come to this wedding.” One imagines that Trump’s priorities may have shifted considerably recently.

Lauren Sanchez’s bachelorette party included a cruise on the Seine, with Kim Kardashian, Katy Perry and Eva Longoria joining the festivities.
KCS Presse/MEGA

While the guest list has not been made public, Sanchez’s very public bachelorette party in Paris last month may offer clues as to who will watch on as she and Bezos say “I do.” Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner, Katy Perry and Eva Longoria all took part in celebrations that included a boat trip along the Seine. Oprah Winfrey, Mick Jagger and Ivanka Trump have also been invited, according to the Associated Press, and Trump was photographed arriving in the city with her husband Jared Kushner, on Tuesday.

As is tradition, Sanchez will be keeping details of her wedding gown, and its designer, under wraps until the big day, but close followers of her fashion will know she is a regular wearer of Dolce & Gabbana. Sanchez sat front and center at the Italian house’s Alta Moda show in Sardinia last summer as her son Nikko Gonzalez walked the runway, signaling a close relationship with the brand. Others in the running to dress the bride could be the storied house of Oscar de la Renta. Sanchez did not attend this year’s Met Gala, but she did notably wear a custom-made gown by the label for her 2024 debut.

The couple pictured at the Met Gala in May 2024, where Sanchez made her debut in an Oscar de la Renta gown.
Kevin Mazur/MG24/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue

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 association confirming they are ready for the event.

The city’s nine yacht ports have also been booked for the week leading up to the main event. Bezos’ $500 million Koru, which is always tailed by the smaller L’Abeona, are both in the Adriatic Sea already, according to the Marine Traffic website.

Venice’s airspace is closed to drones and non-authorized traffic, but one source told CNN that permission has been granted for private helicopters, particularly for anyone needing special security, such as heads of state. The Marco Polo airport, no stranger to private jet traffic, already has a secluded area with direct access to private water taxis, making it easy for stars to slip into the city unseen.

Fluid plans in a floating city

A gondolier rows in front of San Giorgio Maggiore island on Sunday ahead of the Bezos-Sanchez wedding.
Yara Nardi/Reuters

The wedding date itself, by far the most protected detail, had been kept unconfirmed, and the couple seem hellbent on keeping everyone guessing up until the last minute. However, a traffic ordinance by Venice City Hall, released on Wednesday, confirmed that “the wedding of a well-known exponent of global business entrepreneurship” will take place from June 26 to 28, with pedestrian foot traffic barred around the Madonna dell’Orto church on Thursday night, where Reuters reports the first night’s open-air festivities will take place. Bezos and Sanchez arrived in the city on Wednesday.

A person close to Venice City Hall told CNN that the wedding planners secured a variety of venues over a period of days and will decide what happens where and when based on the most uncontrollable factors — weather and protesters.

The wedding is expected to use a small handful of hotels in the city to accommodate guests or host events. One of the most talked-about possible venues is the Cini Foundation on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, which has hosted everything from G7 events to private concerts. The sculpted gardens and monastery, where monks still pray, sit across the lagoon from the famous Piazza San Marco and would provide an intimate setting ideal for a dinner. Building work being carried out in mid-June looked suspiciously like a set being built — perhaps for a wedding concert?

The Aman Hotel on the Grand Canal, where the Clooneys chose to wed, has also been mentioned as a potential location — and Bezos and Sanchez were photographed arriving to the grand 16th-century palazzo by boat on Wednesday. Another top contender is the Scuola Grande della Misericordia, a 16th-century armory that would be perfect for the ceremony itself — although it is more vulnerable to protesters, who have already threatened to block the canals if the wedding party tries to reach the venue.

Interestingly, a rather wedding-esque gazebo has been erected next to the Excelsior Hotel on the Venice Lido, a stone’s throw from where the Venice Film Festival is held each year. But, as with the rest of the venues, nothing is confirmed.