Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner enjoyed a spot of sightseeing as they led the glamorous A-list arrivals in Venice on Wednesday ahead of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez’s highly anticipated wedding.
The Amazon billionaire and his bride-to-be are said to have invited 200 people to their three-day Italian wedding, which is due to kick off on Thursday and end on Saturday.
And today the First Daughter, 43, was among one of the first to touch down in the picturesque Italian city, alongside her husband Jared Kushner, 44.
Businesswoman Ivanka looked stunning in a green dress and canvas sunhat as she arrived by boat – ahead of a three-day extravaganza thought to cost a whopping $20million – after doing a spot of sightseeing along the famous canals.
The couple are joined in the city by their three children, Arabella Rose, 13, Joseph Frederick, 10, and Theodore James, eight.
Bezos himself, 61, and his stunning bride-to-be, 55, were first spotted in the city early on Wednesday afternoon arriving at the Aman Hotel via water-taxi.
Also among the early arrivals was Miguel Bezos – the Amazon Founder’s adoptive father – said to be Bezos’s ‘rock’ as he prepares for his upcoming nuptials.
The upcoming wedding seems to be a family affair for Ivanka, as other members of the Trump family are rumored to be among the 200 guests that the Amazon tycoon and his soon-to-be-bride have invited to the festivities.
Other suspected guests include Orlando Bloom, Katy Perry, Kris Jenner and Kim Kardashian.
The original plan was for a huge party at the Scuola Grande della Misericordia on Saturday night but it has now been moved to another venue in the Arsenale area of the city, according to local media.
The couple have even rented out an entire Island for six days for their glamorous wedding.
The San Georgio Maggiore island, is home to the famous Basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore, a 16th century Benedictine church. Located across from the famous San Marco, it would provide a picturesque setting perfect for a wedding dinner.
In addition to the private tenders, a source revealed to Daily Mail that around 60 of Venice’s water taxis are reserved for the week, with some of the 400 gondolas on the island out of commission as well.
The insider also confirmed that Venice is expecting ‘200 guests who will stay at local hotels,’ although it’s unclear which ones.
Some of the most expensive and high-end hotels in the Italian city include The Aman, where you can book a room for over $2,700 per night, and Hotel Cipriani, which goes for over $2,000 per night.
On Tuesday, a copy of the couple’s invite was leaked with one very specific request made on behalf of the couple.
They’ve asked guests not to buy them any presents and told them they’ll be making donations to multiple charities working to stop Venice from sinking on attendees’ behalf instead.
The star-studded guest list includes A-listers such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Mick Jagger, Oprah Winfrey, Orlando Bloom, Tom Brady, and Kim Kardashian, who was recently seen on Sanchez’s bachelorette.
Many guests are expected to arrive to the lavish wedding via private jet, with at least 95 planes having already requested to land at Venice’s Marco Polo Airport.
Other guests, like American Investor Bill Miller and billionaire Shahid Khan, are arriving to the ceremony via yacht. Miller’s $70million boat was seen moored off the coast of the Italian city.
Bezos’ superyacht, Koru, which includes a bronze goddess statue that shares similarities with his lover Sanchez, is also in the area, moored off the coast of Croatia, which is located across from Italy in the Mediterranean.
The pair threw a foam party onboard the vessel on Friday. The $500 million superyacht is where Bezos popped the question to Sanchez in May 2023.
However, their arrival in Venice has been far from smooth sailing and the couple is being plagued by protesters who are furious the needs of local residents are allegedly being sidelined to make way for wealthy tourists.
Bezos is worth around $224.6 billion and is thought to be spending tens of millions on his wedding.
‘If you can rent Venice for your wedding, you can pay more tax,’ one gigantic banner read in St. Mark’s Square.
Greenpeace and the UK-based collective Everyone Hates Elon have joined protests in Venice attempting to disrupt, or even prevent, the planned wedding celebrations of Amazon founder Bezos this week.
‘Jeff Bezos is the second-richest man in the world yet is reported to pay a 1.1 percent true tax rate,’ the two groups said in a joint statement. ‘The multi-million-dollar wedding is reportedly happening over three days, with the wedding ring alone worth as much as $5million.’
A spokesperson from Everyone Hates Elon said: ‘As governments talk about hard choices and struggle to fund public services, Jeff Bezos can afford to shut down half a city for days on end just to get married.’
Venice mayor Luigi Brugnaro and regional governor Luca Zaia have spoken out in favor of the nuptials, which have been dubbed, ‘the wedding of the century,’ pointing out that the celebrations are expected to bring $23-34million to local businesses.
‘This is a city that handles 150,000 people a day,’ Zaia told Italian daily Corriere della Sera. ‘George Clooney, François-Henri Pinault and Salma Hayek, Alexandre Arnault, Elton John and many others got married here.’
Bezos has also pledged to make sizable charity donations, including $1.16million to Corila – an academic consortium dedicated to studying Venice’s lagoon ecosystem – according to Corriere della Sera and Italy’s ANSA news agency.
It is not the only scandal clouding their nuptials, as guest Orlando Bloom is expected to attend by himself sans his popstar wife Katy Perry, who is currently on tour in Australia.
It is rumored the actor will debut as a ‘single man’ at the billionaire’s wedding.
A tour guide also accidentally leaked some of the guest list, which revealed that Sanchez’s go-to nail artist won’t be in attendance.
Beatrice Bavato, a freelance tour guide, was photographed as she waited for guests and staff from London-based wedding planners Lanza & Baucina in the arrivals hall at the lagoon city’s airport.
The clipboard she was holding listed names, flight numbers and hotel destinations for some of the 200 guests due to arrive at the iconic Italian city in the next few days.
The list also suggests that the bride suffered a last-minute stressful cancellation: her first choice nail artist is marked in biro as a ‘no show’.
Among those listed on Beatrice’s clipboard were Mike and Beth George arriving on a British Airways flight from London before being transferred to the Al Redentore luxury apartment complex.
George was a former Amazon executive who became president of the Bezos Academy, a network of tuition-free preschools founded by Jeff Bezos, and he previously led the Echo and Alexa teams at Amazon.
