Not every celebrity dreams of attending the most high-profile party of the year. Jenna Bush Hager made it clear she’s perfectly happy to miss Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez’s star-studded Venice wedding, explaining why the highly publicized affair would be her personal nightmare. During the Thursday, June 26 episode of “Today with Jenna & Friends,” Bush Hager and guest co-host Maria Shriver discussed why they “shouldn’t feel bad” about not making the guest list for the billionaire couple’s “very exclusive” celebration.
While acknowledging that the celebrity attendeesâ including Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Oprah Winfrey, Kim Kardashian, Khloé Kardashian, and Kris Jennerâwill likely “have fun,” Bush Hager admitted she wouldn’t enjoy herself if she were there, according to People.
“I think it’s really interesting because it’s a very public, everybody’s talking about it. It’s very public. There’s protests in Venice, which I personally would hate,” Bush Hager explained during the show.
The protests Bush Hager referenced have been ongoing throughout Venice as locals express frustration with overtourism and the couple’s extravagant celebration. Signs and banners reading “No Space for Bezos” and “If you can rent Venice for your wedding you can pay more tax” have appeared around the historic city center.
Different Wedding Styles
Bush Hager’s comments stem from her own wedding experience and strong preference for intimate celebrations. She recalled being “so worried about people finding out where [she] was getting married” that she couldn’t imagine dealing with the current protests surrounding the Bezos-Sánchez nuptials.
The “Today” host married Henry Chase Hager on May 10, 2008, in her parents’ backyard in Crawford, Texas, “where nobody could be except for the people we loved.” Her approach to wedding planning prioritized privacy above all else.
“My friends were staying in another tiny town and I was thrilled with that, that there could be some privacy around my marriage,” Bush Hager shared. “So I feel a little badly, though it seems they want it.”
Shriver echoed similar sentiments, sharing how her daughter Katherine Schwarzenegger was “hyper concerned about the privacy” for her wedding to Chris Pratt. “She wanted it really private. She wanted it to be small and intimate and to be really aware of everybody who was there, know everybody who was there,” Shriver explained.
The conversation also touched on the couple’s pre-wedding festivities, including a foam party that took place on Bezos’s $500 million yacht named Koru on June 22. While Shriver expressed appreciation for the couple’s love story, she admitted to feeling uncertain about participating in such public celebrations.
“I think it’s not the first marriage, but I love that they’re in love. I love love. And I love the idea of ‘let’s just go for it, let’s get married,’” Shriver said.
Venice Wedding Drama
The Bezos-Sánchez wedding has generated significant media attention, with multimillion-dollar superyachts swarming Venice and celebrities arriving for various pre-wedding events. Page Six reported that the couple shared a romantic kiss while aboard a water taxi Thursday, with Sánchez wearing a structured gold Schiaparelli haute couture gown and Bezos in a brown suit.
The celebrations have included multiple themed parties leading up to the main event, including Sánchez’s May bachelorette party in Paris, which featured Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner, Eva Longoria, and Katy Perry. TMZ reported the couple planned a trio of themed parties, including a pajama party, in the lead-up to their wedding ceremony.
Despite the protests, local officials have expressed support for the event. Sebastiano Costalonga, Venice’s city councillor for commerce and productive activities, noted that “Venice is used to these events, so the locals are quite serene,” according to People. He added that many local workers, artisans, and merchants are “excited, in ferment and ready to welcome this event.” Sources revealed to Page Six that the couple has “deliberately kept multiple options open, booking several venues across a range of dates” to manage both paparazzi attention and potential disruptions from protesters.
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