A-listers from show business, politics and finance are expected to take part in Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's event, dubbed "the wedding of the century".

A string of water taxis cut through the lagoon to bring Bezos, Sanchez and their guests to the Madonna dell'Orto cloister on the Cannaregio district on the northern edge of Venice. Paparazzi in their own boats followed close behind in a controlled chase, trying to capture the guests on camera, as police on jet skis patrolled a no-go zone.