Bezos wedding extravaganza greeted by joy, protests and indifference

The Black Death, rising water levels, cruise ships the size of city blocks: Venice may have endured much tumult over the centuries, but rarely in its long history has it had to contend with an issue quite as odd and divisive as the sort-of nuptials of the world's fourth-richest person.

- Sam Jones

Yesterday morning found the lagoon city doing what it does best: looking gorgeous and slightly unreal as it hosted thousands of tourists who posed in silver-prowed gondolas, drank mid-morning spritzes or simply wilted in the muggy heat.

But across the water from St Mark's Square, Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's big day was getting under way. The precise choreography of events may not have been clear, but an elaborately planned and stealthily executed operation was unfolding on the tiny island of San Giorgio Maggiore, where the couple would later pledge eternal love and fidelity before a crowd of 200 mainly famous guests.

A handful of camera crews mooched around the entrance to the Giorgio Cini Foundation, where a pair of tight-lipped but polite individuals sat before monitors under a gazebo and politely fended off requests for information.

And no, they really didn't know when the ceremony would begin. According to reports, the couple had already tied the knot in the US, making yesterday's event as symbolic as it was expensive.

The long Venetian afternoon stirred from its torpor at 5pm when Sanchez emerged from the Aman hotel, wearing a cream suit, sunglasses and a headscarf. The bride then boarded a water taxi that ferried her past the legions of photographers and over to the island.