Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez began their wedding celebrations with a playlist of romantic music.
The couple kicked off celebrations with a drinks reception at the luxury Aman hotel, blasting More Than A Woman by the Bee Gees.
They then continued to play tunes like Nina Simone's I'm Feeling Good, Lovely Day by Bill Withers and Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison.
Jeff and Lauren mixed the hits with a selection of traditional Italian music as they prepared for their big day and were joined by another 50 of their closest guests and friends already in the Italian city.
It comes after the pair were pictured arriving at the glitzy Aman Hotel earlier today ahead of their blockbuster wedding.
The multi-billionaire Amazon founder, 61, was seen stepping off a boat alongside his glamorous girlfriend, 55.
Both waved to onlookers and paparazzi as they clambered off the boat onto a purpose-built jetty outside the hotel before quickly being whisked away. They were later snapped flashing smiles as they stood beside a helicopter.
The Mail revealed that Bezos hired out the hotel - the same used by George and Amal Clooney for their wedding - from Wednesday.
A huge security team is now surrounding the property with five or six men staffing each entrance.
Billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez are all smiles as they arrive in Venice ahead their much anticipated wedding
The pair waved to paparazzi as they steamed through Venetian waterways
Billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez arrive in Venice ahead their anticipated wedding
Lauren Sanchez waves to photographers as she arrives in Venice hand in hand with Jeff Bezos ahead of their lavish wedding
The luxury hotel Aman in Venice, Italy, 25 June 2025, where Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos arrived by boat. Venice will host the wedding of Bezos and his fiancee journalist Lauren Sanchez in the coming days
Amazon's founder Jeff Bezos (C) arrives at the Aman Hotel in Venice
Jeff Bezos arrives at Aman Venice hotel, ahead of his and Lauren Sanchez expected wedding, in Venice, Italy, June 25, 2025
The tech magnate and journalist have reportedly invited about 200 guests to their multi-million-dollar nuptials.
Around 90 private jets are set to land in local airports this week, bringing A-listers from show business, politics and finance to the widely-dubbed 'wedding of the century'.
The celebrations are expected to kick off on Thursday and end on Saturday.
But the historic venue that Bezos and Sanchez chose for part of their $20 million bash is covered in scaffolding, MailOnline can reveal.
The lavish three-day event will feature a party held within the fabulous 15th-century Madonna dell'Orto church in Venice's quaint Cannareggio district tomorrow night.
Venice City Hall issued a directive on Wednesday, cordoning off the area and isolating guests from activists who have been protesting for weeks that the celebrations will turn the city of gondolas and palazzi into a private amusement park for the rich.
Bezos, who remains the executive chair of e-commerce giant Amazon and sits at number 4 on Forbes' billionaires list, got engaged to Sanchez in 2023, four years after the collapse of his 25-year marriage to Mackenzie Scott.
In preparation, security guards have now blocked off entrances to the closure where the party will be held, but what guests will first see when they arrive is the iconic bell tower covered in scaffolding.
This has left locals speculating that Bezos may have booked the venue based on seeing pictures on Google without realising it is being repaired.
The revelation comes just a day after MailOnline revealed how a careless wedding organiser had unwittingly leaked sensitive details of the VIP event to the media by being photographed carrying a printed guest list.
Meanwhile, the fact that the huge wedding is taking place in one of the world's most vulnerable heritage sites has become so controversial that it is being angrily discussed in Italian parliament.
This controversy intensified overnight as council chiefs ordered the blocking off of the canal running in front of the church for around 200 metres, with a landing point for boats closed off with red and white tape.
Access from the Brazzo and Dei Muti canals blocked as well from 6pm tonight - when the wedding festivities kick off with a pyjama party at a secret location - until midnight tomorrow.
Billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez are all smiles
Billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez arrive in Venice
The historic venue that multi-billionaire Jeff Bezos has chosen for part of his $20 million Venice wedding with Lauren Sanchez is covered in scaffolding. Pictured: 15th Century Madonna dell Orto church covered in scaffolding
Bell Tower at Roman Catholic Church of Madonna dell Orto pictured without scaffolding
CEO of Amazon Jeff Bezos and partner Lauren Sanchez attend the Vanity Fair Oscar Party at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, California, on March 2, 2025
Dozens of electrical cables, threading along the ground like spaghetti, are being run from a noisy generator boat moored in the Madonna dell 'Orto canal, which is creating a noisy din.
The venue for the party is the cloister next door to the church, which is where the famous Renaissance artist Tintoretto is buried.
The website for the cloister describes the venue, which is used for the famous Biennale art exhibition in Venice, as 'simple, yet elegant'.
Pictures from previous events show tables beneath the vaulted ceilings atmospherically lit by candlelight - but this week the scaffolding on the church tower will be clearly visible.
The cloister extends to three sides and is supported by ornate columns with a beautiful herringbone floor.
When MailOnline approached a guard and asked if the cloister was open, we were told: 'No, it's closed; there is a private function.'
The Aman hotel has built a private jetty for the lucky 48 guests who will be staying there for the Bezos wedding.
Sat on the Grand Canal, the hotel has constructed a small pier covered in a blue tent for those who will be arriving by boat and require privacy. The couple have booked out all 24 grand rooms at the hotel from Wednesday.
Extra police and added safety measures have been brought in for the wedding, and local authorities have been holding a series of daily meetings to discuss how to protect the expected 200 VIPs.
According to local media reports, the city will pay overtime to an unspecified number of police officers involved in security for the wedding organisers.
The Aman hotel has built a private jetty for the lucky 48 guests who will be staying there for the Bezos wedding. Pictured: A gondola carries tourists in front of the Aman Hotel along the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy, on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, ahead of festivities in the lagoon city reportedly linked to a wedding celebration for Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez
When guests first arrive, they will see the iconic bell tower covered in scaffolding
This has left locals speculating that Bezos may have booked the venue based on seeing pictures on Google without realising it is currently being repaired
Private security are seen patrolling the area of where the wedding events will be held
Among the assorted billionaires and millionaires on the guest list, there is also Ivanka Trump, who as the US president's daughter has an extra added level of security.
All of this has prompted questions in parliament from furious MPs - mostly from opposition centre left and environmental parties - wanting to know just how much Italian taxpayers' money was being spent.
Angelo Bonelli, an MP with the Italian Green and Left Alliance, angrily demanded that Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi from the ruling Brothers of Italy right-wing party provide cost details.
Mr Bonelli said: 'We need information because from Wednesday until Saturday night the city of Venice will be in a virtual lockdown to allow the Amazon magnate's wedding to go ahead.'
'It will be locked down, but it will also be a city bought for three days in a sort of unbridled celebration of luxury that will limit the movement of citizens.
'I am here to ask the Ministry of the Interior to guarantee the freedom to express dissent. How is it possible to buy a city for three days creating a series of inconveniences?'
'I remember that Amazon is under investigation for the exploitation of workers; Bezos' wealth comes from this. If they can buy Venice for three days; these super rich can pay taxes.'
Bonelli's request was echoed by opposition M5S deputy Antonio Iaria, who said: 'We too; as the Five Star Movement; ask Piantedosi for information.'