WEDDING OF THE DECADE

As Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez prepare to tie the knot in Venice, we bring you our essential A-Z guide

- KATIE DALY

A AMAZON

The couple wouldn't be staging such an extravagant wedding had it not been for the groom's success in founding tech company Amazon in 1994. Jeff Bezos (right in 1997) left his job as vice-president of Wall Street firm DE Shaw & Co to move to Seattle to launch an online bookstore from his garage, eventually transforming it into the global behemoth it is today.

B BILLIONAIRE

Jeff became a billionaire in 1998 and is now worth nearly $230bn (£169bn). Thanks to Amazon’s push into cloud computing in 2006, the company is now estimated to be worth more than $1tn.

That said, the founder would rather be remembered as someone who helped create prosperity for others.

“Somebody needs to make a list where they rank people by how much wealth they've created for other people, instead of the Forbes list that ranks you by your own wealth,” Jeff said last year.

C CLOONEYS

By getting married in Venice, Jeff and Lauren are following in the A-list footsteps of George and Amal Clooney. The Hollywood actor, 64, and human rights barrister, 47, tied the knot there in September 2014, welcoming guests including celebrity couples Emily Blunt and John Krasinski, and Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber. Matt Damon, Bill Murray and Dame Anna Wintour also witnessed their ceremony at the seven-star Aman Canal Grande Hotel.

“George and I wanted a wedding that was romantic and elegant,” Amal later said. Her husband, meanwhile, described Venice as “the most romantic city in the world”.

D DOLCE & GABBANA