Off-limits hotels, hidden entrances, and fenced-off areas: Disappointing photos show how locked down Jeff Bezos’ wedding was

Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez’s wedding brought an A-list crowd to Venice for the glamorous celebration, but if you weren’t on the guest list, you weren’t getting anywhere near it.

The details of the wedding were kept tightly under wraps.

But even after the locations of the hotels and party venues leaked, swarms of paparazzi and journalists — myself included — were left squinting through fences, peeking over security guards, and kept away by boat-only entrances hidden from public view.

The Bezos-Sánchez wedding was in town, but for those hoping to see a slice of the action, security was there to remind you: You weren’t invited.

Starting Thursday, paparazzi crowded into Venice’s narrow alleyways and docks, aiming long lenses at a handful of luxury hotels rumored to be hosting celebrity guests. Five properties were said to be hosting wedding guests.

But getting anywhere near them, let alone inside, was nearly impossible thanks to heightened security.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in life, it’s that if you don’t ask, you don’t get. And in Venice on the weekend of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez‘s wedding, even if you ask, you might get the door to a five-star hotel closed on you slowly and told, “Not a chance.”

That’s what happened to me when I tried to enter the Gritti Palace Hotel, one of several hotels believed to be hosting celebrity guests. It also happened at four others.

The Gritti Palace Hotel has hosted big names over the years, including Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor, and Winston Churchill. This weekend, it hosted more A-listers, such as the Kardashian-Jenner clan, Tom Brady, and Orlando Bloom.

I walked tentatively into the hotel’s vestibule, flashed my press pass at a manager and a bellboy, and asked if there was any chance I could have a look around or even interview the manager. I expected a “no,” and, sure enough, I got one.

“Not possible,” said the smiling manager. “No, sorry. Not a chance.” I was gently ushered out. The door closed politely, but firmly, behind me.

At the Hotel Danieli, which was originally a palace, I didn’t even make it through the door. The revolving doors at the front were locked, and as I tried to enter a side door, also locked, hotel staff inside watched as I jiggled the handles. When I waved to get their attention, they turned away —I didn’t even have a chance to plead my case to them.

When I arrived at the St. Regis, two police officers and a sharply dressed doorman were outside.

“Could I have a quick look around?” I asked. A firm “No.”

“Is the hotel fully booked?” A firm “Yes.”

“For a wedding?” I asked, pushing my luck. I received a polite smile but no response.

I tried the dock nearby, hoping to get a glimpse of the hotel’s grand water entrance, but a security guard told me to leave. These luxury hotels are most fashionably approached by water taxi, not on foot.

Then, I got a water taxi to the Belmond Cipriani hotel, on the island of Giudecca, slightly removed from the city center. It’s best known as the birthplace of the Bellini — the peach-and-Prosecco cocktail invented at the iconic Harry’s Bar.

I had the most luck here. I confidently strode down a long passageway, past a security guard, and for a moment thought I was in. Then I hit a locked gate requiring a keycard.

I knew it was a long shot. Even on a normal weekend, without a celebrity wedding, getting into these luxury hotels without a keycard would likely be no easy feat. But this weekend, with heightened security and billions of dollars’ worth of guests staying, I stood less chance than ever.

I ended my attempts by visiting the Aman Hotel, where Bezos and Sánchez are staying. It was also the location of George and Amal Clooney’s wedding in 2014. The main entrance is by water and, with police patrols and high security, it was a non-starter.

Even seeing the guests leave the hotel was a difficult task. A gazebo was set up in advance of the wedding, presumably to prevent the guests from being photographed.

In a final effort to get into the hotel, I found a back entrance — a fenced-off garden area guarded by two security guards. I peeked through the fence and politely tried to get their attention. I asked one of them if I could go inside. “Impossible,” he said. “No.”

On the first night of the wedding celebrations, held at the Chiesa della Madonna dell’Orto, police blocked access to the venue.

Paparazzi and journalists were left scrambling for vantage points, and tourists also raised their phones high, hoping to see what was going on.

From a distance, with camera lenses zoomed in, you could just make out some guests arriving, including Bezos and Sánchez. But even that glimpse came with layers of distance and security.

On the second day of celebrations, held at San Giorgio Maggiore, getting a look inside was even harder. Journalists and members of the public could reach a workers’ entrance, where security stood watch by a fence, checking lanyards and allowing through only those with authorized access.

But from that vantage point, it was impossible to see, hear, or get any real sense of what was being prepared for the ceremony and party.

As celebrities left their hotels en route to San Giorgio Maggiore, members of the press and hopeful tourists waited on the island, hoping to catch a glimpse of the A-list arrivals.

Everyone was left disappointed. Wedding guests entered through a hidden entrance on the far side of the island, shielded by security and completely out of view from where anyone else could stand.

Aside from a handful of distant celebrity sightings, all that could be seen were security patrols and paparazzi zipping by in boats.

I came to Venice for the wedding of the century — but mostly, I saw security guards, fences, and a hotel door closing in my face.

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