Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez have officially tied the not in a luxury Venetian wedding — and the celebrations have been about as over the top as you’d expect.
The Amazon billionaire and his new wife celebrated in front of 200 VIP guests, following days of blatant excess in the floating city, two years after the billionaire proposed to the TV journalist on his $500 million superyacht.
While locals have been protesting the ‘absurd wealth theatre’ on display – with creepy mannequins of the pair spotted floating through the Venice canals — Jeff has been pictured frolicking in the suds of a foam party aboard his lavish yacht before the big day.
Guests began arriving earlier this week, with the likes of Ivanka Trump, Barbara Streisand, Kim Kardashian and Bill Gates jetting in. But things haven’t exactly gone to plan: Thursday’s pre-wedding party at the historic Madonna dell-Orto cloisters was hit by torrential rain.
A-listers including Kylie Jenner were forced to take cover during the freak thunderstorm. Because even billionaires can’t control the weather… yet.
But according to top UK wedding planner Mark Niemierko, we shouldn’t be rolling our eyes — we should be getting inspired.
‘I think overall myself, and other fellow planners in the industry are excited,’ he tells Metro.
‘While their taste might not be to everyone’s liking, I feel this is what is most important when it comes to planning and designing your wedding – being yourself.’
Mark has been a luxury wedding planner for 20 years, with a client list that includes Julia and James Cordon and Rochelle and Marvin Humes. His company, Niemierko, has even planned weddings attended by royalty.
After seeing enough drab wedding concepts while in the business, he’s excited to see someone doing something different.
‘I am thrilled we might have a break in the beige weddings taking over Instagram, the algorithm needs a refresh,’ he says.
‘Overall, I’m loving every minute from the leaked gift Registry card of the invites, to the foam party snaps, to the drama of having to move venues.’
Mark knows a thing or two about excess — he’s planned countless weddings, with the average budget stretching between £500,000 and £750,000, and some soaring into the millions.
Think six-figure cake rooms, karaoke machines on the dance floor, private jets for a family’s pet dog (and the pet’s walker), entire countryside hotels restaffed top to bottom, and the London Museum’s Christmas decorations removed overnight to fit a bride’s specific vision.
‘Very early on I learnt to listen to my couples, to ensure I created days around them – and not my own personal taste and style,’ he says.
‘Back in 2006, a bride told me she wanted this “booth thing”, a bit like at train stations where you have your passport photo taken. I immediately thought, what, that won’t work. Well, it was and photo booths are now as common at weddings as confetti.’
But, is there such a thing as too much?
Mark says: ‘The only time I draw a line is if it will ruin the guest experience. If it’s a mad idea that’ll work and keep guests guessing, and the night alive and not dull – I’m all for it.
‘But if it’s long-winded and service will be affected, I’ll likely ensure we ditch it.’
For Mark, the best weddings aren’t just stylish, they’re fun.
‘Humour I think is a very important part of a wedding day, if it’s all taking yourselves too seriously, posing for photos – where’s the moment in that? Less fake, more fun I say,’ he adds.
If you’re planning a wedding – but don’t have quite the same budget as Jeff and Lauren, according to Nick there are still things you can do to make sure your nuptials have an A-list vibe.
Don’t forget the loo
‘I think loos generally are the most important things,’ he says.
‘Whether you’re at an airport or a nightclub, we all need to go for a wee. It shouldn’t be an experience of “Oh my God! I need to go for a wee, but I need to get out of this room so quickly”.
‘It should be “Oh my god, this is insane. I want to stay in here all night.’
Mark doesn’t hold back when it comes to styling the bathrooms at his weddings, adding everything from scented candles to tarot card readers to pleasantly surprise guests.
One simple tip? He says: ‘Get yourself crystal decanters, fill them up with mouthwash, get little paper cups and put them on the side.
‘There’s nothing more fabulous than being on a night out and thinking, “I almost feel like I’ve brushed my teeth”.’
Obviously, Mark adds, don’t be stingy on your choice of soap, and if you can, add personal touches. ‘I love doing a sweet jar full of every different coloured vaseline.’
And, if he finds out which perfumes the couple wears, he might add little bottles of them in the bathroom. ‘But, just beware. They’re going to get nabbed,’ he adds. ‘A guest is going to take them. Someone will steal them.’
Prioritise the bar
Next on Mark’s essentials list? The bar. And not just what’s in it, but where it is.
‘You could not be a drinker. But you still need a drink. So the bar is going to need to be fully stocked,’ he says.
‘If you can’t afford to water and feed all of your guests, then don’t invite them. Have a fully open bar if you can afford it.’
You want to make sure it’s close to the action. Mark advises: ‘Don’t have it separate from the dance room, because you’ll end up with a split group, and you want it closer to where the dancing is.
‘Not on top of the dance floor, but close enough to make sure it’s flowing and whoever’s managing it doesn’t run out of glassware. It needs to flow.’
Every moment counts
You might assume it’s all over when the music stops, but Mark wants guests to be surprised until the very last moment.
He’s even set up a Shawarma kebab stall for guests to enjoy on their way out.
‘Can you imagine what the guests are saying to each other when they leave that wedding? They’re drunk and they’re turning to each other, probably talking with their mouths full, going, “Oh my God! This is the best wedding I’ve ever been to”.’
Some standout weddings Niemierko has pulled off
Battersea Power Station (pre-renovation) – one of Mark’s early large-scale projects was held at Battersea Power Station when it was still derelict in 2012. He turned it into a grand-scale rock-and-roll wedding. He says: ‘It’s funny going back there now and it’s all so polished and beautiful.’
British Pullman Train – in 2012, Mark transported guests to a countryside wedding at Blenheim Palace via the Belmond British Pullman Train. ‘Everyone got on the British Pullman, and we had a fabulous dinner on the train. Then you arrived in Woodstock, and your hotel was taken care of,’ he says.
The British Museum – Mark orchestrated the first-ever wedding at the British Museum for just 20 guests in 2018. ‘Guests didn’t know where they were going,’ he says. ‘We did a very simple registry office and then they got in cars to a mystery venue and pulled up at the British Museum. It was like Night at the Museum. Totally empty. And then you walked to the Egyptian galleries and that’s where we had a dinner. It was quite epic.’
Private jet for dogs – Niemierko has gone the extra mile for all sorts of guests. ‘There’s obviously been private jets for dogs, he says. ‘We can’t say where they were flying from, but we had to make sure that dog was somewhere else and they pretty much flew with a staff member on a private jet.’
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