What is Jeff Bezos & Lauren Sánchez’s reported wedding budget? Private jets at the ceremony may emit more CO₂ than 27,300 cars produce in a single day

Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez’s upcoming wedding in Venice, Italy, is reportedly set to be one of the year’s most extravagant celebrity affairs, both in cost and environmental impact. According to the Daily Mail, wedding experts estimate that the couple's nuptials could cost between $15 million and $20 million. Meanwhile, as per UNILAD, the carbon footprint from guest travel alone may surpass the daily emissions of 27,300 cars.

Although early reports claimed a nearly $600 million price tag, Jeff Bezos has since denied those reports. On June 12, 2025, wedding experts Kunal Madan and Zoe Buke estimated that the budget will be at $15-20 million, including:

• Entertainment: High-profile performances (Lady Gaga and Elton John have been rumored, although their reps deny involvement) could cost $3–5 million.
• Transport: Private jets, yacht charters, and security for 200 guests could cost $500,000–$2 million.
• Attire: Lauren Sánchez’s custom couture gown (potentially by Dolce & Gabbana or Valentino) and Bezos’s bespoke suit could exceed $1 million.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, whose net worth is around $227 billion as of June 2025, according to Forbes, and Lauren Sánchez, a journalist and co-host of the podcast Locker Room Talk with Lauren Sanchez and Suzy Shuster, have been engaged since 2023.

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Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez's wedding details explored

Beyond the budget, the wedding’s carbon footprint is coming under scrutiny, as per The Guardian. Approximately 96 private jets are poised to ferry guests, including Oprah Winfrey, Katy Perry, and Ivanka Trump, to Venice.

The wedding venue has sparked intrigue with speculation that the ceremony may be in an open-air theater or at the Scuola Grande della Misericordia. As per the Daily Mail, although early reports mentioned Bezos’s new $500 million superyacht, Koru, would host the ceremony, insiders explained that it would be a land-based affair to accommodate certain elaborate setups. Reportedly, the mayor of Venice also confirmed the city was coordinating with the organizers of the wedding in order to limit disruptions to the city's delicate ecosystem.

Climate activists and residents of Venice have opposed the event, arguing that it contributes to overtourism and environmental damage. A banner reading "No Space for Bezos" was recently hung near St. Mark’s Square. According to People magazine, Bezos shifted his venue from the city center of Venice to a shipyard after protests from environmental activists and security concerns.

Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, and Lauren Sánchez, a journalist and co-host of the podcast Locker Room Talk with Lauren Sanchez and Suzy Shuster, began their relationship in 2019 after Bezos divorced his wife of 25 years, MacKenzie Scott. According to the Daily Mail, the couple went public with their relationship after their affair was brought to light. The affair allegedly began while Sánchez was still married to Hollywood agent Patrick Whitesell, and Bezos was still married to Scott.

In May 2023, the couple announced their engagement, and Bezos gave Sánchez an engagement diamond worth an estimated $2.5 million, as per Page Six.

According to E! News, on June 24, 2025, Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez unveiled their wedding invitation, which included a request for guests not to bring gifts. Instead, they revealed that they would make donations to the UNESCO Venice office, on behalf of their guests, to safeguard Venice's lagoon habitats. The invitation read,

“We have one early request: please, no gifts. Donations on your behalf are being made to the UNESCO Venice Office to safeguard this city's irreplaceable cultural heritage to CORILA to restore the vital lagoon habitats that protect Venice's future."

Lauren Sánchez also recently made history as part of the first all-female crew to launch into space in the 21st century. The mission was executed by Jeff Bezos’s aerospace company Blue Origin on April 14, 2025.

Sánchez, a licensed helicopter pilot and a former broadcast journalist, joined an all-female crew of five, including pop star Katy Perry and TV host Gayle King, aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket. The brief suborbital flight lasted 11 minutes and reached the Kármán line, 62 miles above Earth.

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Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez will tie the knot on June 27, 2025.

Edited by Meghna