After months of speculation and last-minute date changes, Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's multi-million dollar wedding celebrations finally kicked off on Thursday evening.
Commencing the three-day Venitian extravaganza was a decadent pizza party in one of the city's most famous historical sites, the Madonna dell'Orto - meaning "Madonna of the Garden" - in the heart of the cobblestone streets.
© AFP via Getty ImagesPrior to a long list of celebrity guests making their way down the Grand Canal, preparations for the first night were being made on Thursday afternoon.
I have been on the ground covering the wedding from Venice and so I was lucky enough to get an insight into what the night looked like for the bride and groom and their star-studded guestlist.
The decor
As I stepped over the bridge the first thing I saw was hundreds of beautiful flowers in striking purple, pink and yellow hues contrasting their deep forest green leaves, so it's clear wild flowers play a huge role in the decor for night one.
As well as the stunning selection of flora, there was a large tray of what appeared to be faux lemon decorations.
The food
Staying true to the location, the first night party was a very Italian pizza party. I saw staff loading countless trays of fresh dough, a giant mozzarella ball, and copious amounts of olive oil into the heritage venue as well as a tiny orange on the vine tomatoes.
Security
It isn't hard to believe that the third richest man in the world is going to need his big day seriously locked down, but even I was shocked at just how many variations of police existed and were deployed to secure the first evening revelry.
Not only were there local police in speed boats and on jet skis, but a force named the Guardia di Finanza, a military Police Force reporting directly to the Minister of Economy and Finance, who also arrived on speed boat, oh, and of course a very adorable and hardworking sniffer dog made an appearance too..
The stars you didn't see
In the evening, the canal was graced with a slew of exceptionally well-dressed guests with some stand-out moments being Kylie and Kendall Jenner's so-in-sync sister bond as they pulled up for the night's proceedings.
After stepping out onto the glamorously lit jetty, fashion model Kendall was the image of sophistication in her tumbling floral gown, while Kyle oozed her usual cool-girl chic with a glass in hand.
But as well as the faces you did see there were a few of celebrity guests who kept their appearance under the radar. One of them was Ivanka Trump who was one of the earlier arrivals to the big bash.
Usher also stepped into the party, greeted by onlookers who couldn't believe the US music artist made an appearance.
Unfortunately for the stars and the happy couple, the night ended with torrential rain and thunder, here's hoping there was somewhere indoors for them to recover!
