If your wedding was a global media event, hailed by some as the ‘wedding of the century’, then how on earth do you follow it?
For Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez, now Sanchez-Bezos, the answer is by not going on honeymoon.
The couple are currently cruising around the coast of Croatia with their seven children from previous relationships – and have no plans to do anything more organised than that.
I’m told: ‘They are just hanging out on jetskis and swimming and sunbathing. It’s not a honeymoon really, they aren’t going away just the two of them. They are relaxing and recovering from the wedding with some family time.’
‘Familymoons’ – where children come away with their parents – are on the rise as a phenomenon, although after celebrating their love story so visibly it’s a surprise that the couple haven’t had a more romantic get-away.
While Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez’s nuptials were dubbed ‘the wedding of the century,’ the couple have shirked the post-marital tradition by not going on honeymoon
The couple are currently cruising around the coast of Croatia with their seven children from previous relationships
However a source who was intimately connected with the wedding tells me that family were front and center at the event.
For a start, it can be revealed that Sanchez’ two sons Evan, 19, and Nikko, 24, were the ones who walked her down the aisle at the wedding on Friday last week in the grounds of the Cini Foundation in San Giorgio Maggiore, just off the Grand Canal in Venice.
Nikko is her son by former NFL player Tony Gonzales and Tony and his wife Tobie were among the 200 friends and family at the wedding.
Sanchez’ daughter Ella, 17, was a maid of honour. Sources say: ‘all the kids gave speeches’ at the festivities after the wedding ceremony, including Bezos’ four children.
He had three sons during his marriage to Mackenzie Bezos and they also adopted a daughter. The oldest, Preston, is 25. He’s never made public the names of the rest.
A source said: ‘What people won’t know from the pictures is how exhausting and full-on it was for the guests.
‘The heat didn’t help but people were forever needing to get around Venice, which means by boat, and that was a hassle and took ages, and there were a lot of people who all needed to get to the same place at the same time.
A source who was intimately connected with the wedding revealed that the couple’s children were front and centre on the big day
Sources say: ‘all the kids gave speeches’ at the festivities after the wedding ceremony, including Bezos’ four children (pictured with his son Preston)
While photos gave the impression of a grand spectacle for the guests, including Sydney Sweeney, sources have shared how the wedding was ‘exhausting’ for those attending
Stars were ferried to different venues via water taxi, which means some were already ‘exhausted’ by the time they reached the ceremony
‘People were complaining about being completely tired by the time of the wedding day, never mind the day after.’
The bar of the Gritti Palace Hotel was the chief hang-out during the three day celebration, with guests like Tom Brady, Orlando Bloom, Sydney Sweeney and Kim and Khloe Kardashian hanging out and partying until the early hours.
Jeff, 61, and Lauren, 55, and their families were quartered at the nearby Aman, and there was an ‘overspill’ at the St Regis. Lauren had a full on ‘glam squad suite’ at the Aman for her stylists, hair stylists and make up artists.
British singer Ellie Goulding, who was pictured at the event, was actually there to perform after the wedding. The couple also had a gospel choir and it is reported that Matteo Bocelli sang, too.
R&B star Usher sang at the ‘night after’ party on Saturday. Reports that Sir Elton John and Lady Gaga were to perform turned out to be incorrect.
The night after party, also called their ‘Dolce Notte’, was meant to be a pyjama party but many guests interpreted the dress code very liberally.
Not least Sanchez-Bezos, who wore a pink Atelier Versace dress with a hand embroidered bodice embellished with crystals and hand pleated skirt.
Other guests – so far unreported – include the Netflix boss Ted Sarandos, which might be a surprise as Amazon’s Prime Video is a direct rival subscription service to Netflix.
Socialite Wendi Deng, formerly married to Rupert Murdoch, was also there.
Hollywood power broker Ari Emanuel was there with wife Sarah Staudinger, a fashion designer and friend of the bride.
The invite of Hollywood power broker Ari Emanuel was described as a ‘slap in the face’ for Lauren’s first husband Patrick Whitesell (pictured with Lauren in 2014)
The bar of the Gritti Palace Hotel was the chief hang-out during the celebration, with guests like Tom Brady, Orlando Bloom and Kim and Khloe Kardashian partying until the early hours
There was some surprise at the invite for Ari, which is being interpreted as a ‘slap in the face’ for Sanchez’ first husband, Patrick Whitesell.
Whitesell, who is the father of Evan and Ella, famously has never got on with Emanuel, even though the two men ran talent agency, WME together for years.
Whitesell has since remarried, to model Pia. He and Lauren Sanchez were married for 14 years and announced their separation when her affair with Jeff became public.
The two couples knew each other socially and professionally before the Jeff and Lauren liaison.
Jeff, who founded Amazon, is one of the wealthiest people in the world with a net worth of $244 billion. New wife Lauren is a journalist turned helicopter pilot and she met him when making a documentary.
During the wedding she wore a Schiaparelli haute couture dress to an ‘eve of’ celebration, then a high necked lace Dolce & Gabbana dress for the ceremony.
There has been criticism of Jeff’s D&G tux with a Twitter account for Caraceni Sartoria, a leading bespoke tailoring house, writing: ‘The most terrible, frightening, horrible tuxedo ever seen in my life. Elegance is not an empty word. I cant stand it! Really suffering.’
Guests included Oprah and Gayle King, model Karlie Kloss, former Vogue UK editor Edward Enninful, stylist Jamie Mizrahi, actor Orlando bloom and Kim and Khloe Kardahian, their mother Kris Jenner, and Kylie and Kendall Jenner.
