NEED TO KNOW
- When Lauren Sánchez wed Jeff Bezos in a lavish Venice celebration, it was a family affair
- Vogue reports that Sánchez was walked down the aisle by her two sons, Nikko and Evan, during the celebration
- The outlet also confirms that the bride’s maid-of-honor was someone else close to her heart
Lauren Sánchez’s wedding to Jeff Bezos was a family affair — with the bride walked down the aisle by her sons Nikko and Evan, and accompanied at the altar by her 17-year-old daughter Ella, who served as her maid of honor.
The Emmy-winning journalist, 55, tied the knot with the Amazon founder, 61, in a black-tie ceremony on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice, Italy, on Friday, June 27.
Vogue reports that Ella served as the bride’s maid of honor and delivered a reading at the ceremony. Per the outlet, Ella wore a Dolce & Gabbana suit (Sánchez herself wore a corseted, mermaid-style wedding dress custom-designed by Dolce, along with Dolce earrings).
“Ella’s original; she beats to her own drum. She had never had a fitting before, and she loved it. She’s going to look amazing. It has been the most fun dressing all the kids,” Lauren told Vogue.
The outlet also confirmed that Sánchez’s sons walked her down the aisle.
Sánchez welcomed son Nikko, 24, in 2001 with her ex-boyfriend, former NFL player Tony Gonzalez. After the two split, Sánchez married her now ex-husband, businessman Patrick Whitesell. Sánchez and Whitesell celebrated the arrival of their son, Evan, 19, in 2006 and daughter, Ella, in 2008.
Sánchez and Bezos celebrated their Italian nuptials over several days, welcoming a number of their celebrity friends for the lavish festivities in the Floating City, including Oprah Winfrey, Gayle King, Orlando Bloom, Kim Kardashian, Khloé Kardashian, Kris Jenner, Kylie Jenner, Karlie Kloss, Leonardo DiCaprio, Usher and Tom Brady.
Other notable guests included Queen Rania of Jordan, Bill Gates and his girlfriend, Paula Hurd, François-Henri Pinault, and fashion designers Diane von Fürstenberg, Domenico Dolce and Tommy Hilfiger.
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A source tells PEOPLE the couple’s wedding ceremony kicked off with a performance of “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Elvis Presley, sung by Matteo Bocelli to cheers from the guests.
Shortly after the nuptials took place, Sánchez shared the first photo of the wedding on her Instagram. She and Bezos can be seen smiling and holding hands in a garden setting as their guests looked on.
PEOPLE confirmed that Bezos and Sánchez were engaged in May 2023, four years after news broke that they were in a relationship.
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