Lauren Sánchez’s Sons Nikko and Evan Walked Her Down the Aisle at Jeff Bezos Wedding

Lauren Sánchez’s two sons Nikko and Evan walked her down the aisle at her wedding to Jeff Bezos.

The Amazon founder, 61, and the Emmy-winning journalist, 55, tied the knot in a black-tie ceremony held on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice, Italy, on Friday, June 27.

Sánchez confirmed that her sons would be the ones escorting her down the aisle in an interview with Vogue, which was published to coincide with the wedding.

Per Vogue‘s Chloe Malle: “Her two sons will walk her down the aisle, she tells me, apologizing that she can’t help tearing up as she envisions it.”

Sánchez welcomed son Nikko, 24, in 2001 with her ex-boyfriend, former NFL player Tony Gonzalez. After the two split, Sánchez married her now ex-husband, businessman Patrick Whitesell. Sánchez and Whitesell celebrated the arrival of their son, Evan, 19, in 2006 and daughter, Ella, in 2008.

Bezos — who began dating Sánchez in 2019 — has four kids of his own. The entrepreneur welcomed three sons and one daughter with ex-wife MacKenzie Scott. His children have been kept largely away from the spotlight.

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The couple celebrated their Italian nuptials over several days, welcoming a number of their celebrity friends for the lavish festivities in the Floating City, including Oprah Winfrey, Gayle King, Orlando Bloom, Kim Kardashian, Khloé Kardashian, Kris Jenner, Kylie Jenner, Karlie Kloss, Leonardo DiCaprio, Usher and Tom Brady.

Other notable guests included Queen Rania of Jordan, Bill Gates and his girlfriend, Paula Hurd, François-Henri Pinault, and fashion designers Diane von Fürstenberg, Domenico Dolce and Tommy Hilfiger.

According to Vogue, the bride wore a corseted, mermaid-style wedding dress was custom-designed by Dolce & Gabbana and featured hand-appliquéd Italian lace, along with borrowed Dolce earrings. Her “something blue” was a secret souvenir from her Blue Origin space flight, per the outlet.

A source tells PEOPLE the couple’s wedding ceremony kicked off with a performance of “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Elvis Presley, by Matteo Bocelli to cheers from the guests.

Shortly after the nuptials took place, Sánchez shared the first photo of the wedding on her Instagram (the handle of which she has already changed to feature her new name: Lauren Sánchez Bezos). In the photo, she and Bezos can be seen smiling and holding hands in a garden setting as their guests looked on.

Days ahead of the nuptials, signs had already gone up around Venice’s historic center, including on the famed Rialto Bridge, protesting the upcoming wedding amid concerns of significant disruptions and increasing frustrations about the city being overrun by tourists.

Venetian Mayor Luigi Brugnaro, meanwhile, said he welcomed the wedding festivities, telling AP his city was “very proud” to be hosting the high-profile event.

“It’s an honor that they chose Venice. Venice once again reveals itself to be a global stage,” he said.

The couple has been planning their wedding for nearly two years, with the Amazon founder getting down on one knee and proposing to the Emmy-winning journalist during a summer vacation in Europe in May 2023.

She told Vogue in December 2023 that she “blacked out a bit” when he showed her the 30-carat engagement ring.