Jeff Bezos is marrying Lauren Sánchez in an extravagant, star-studded ceremony in Venice this weekend — and their PR team will be limbering up for a hectic few days.
“The average person has no idea just how layered the PR machinery is behind a celebrity mega-event like Bezos’ Venice wedding,” Mayah Riaz, a celebrity manager and publicist who has worked on many celebrity weddings, told Business Insider. “They are very much curated media events.” A representative for Bezos didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.
Anything a high-profile figure does will garner public and media attention, she said, and nuptials are no exception. The Bezos-Sànchez wedding, for example, is already dominating headlines and will no doubt be the subject of many articles, opinion pieces, and social media posts in the coming weeks.
For this reason, the couple or event host will want the media coverage and public perception to align with their public brand and reflect well on them, she said.
To achieve this, a team of publicists will work round the clock, anticipating how the details of the high-profile event will be received and trying to curate a favorable narrative.
When planing a VIP’s event, PR teams consider everything from how many (and which) details are released ahead of time to how each generation may react differently to it, Riaz said.
“A luxury event like this doesn’t happen without an integrated PR team,” she added.
Riaz shared some of the surprising things that PRs do to manage huge VIP events.
One huge VIP event typically has many publicists
Behind the scenes of a major celebrity event, there is often a PR team with multiple people.
There might be one person responsible for media strategy, including setting the narrative of the event and managing announcements, Riaz said. Another person may act as the media spokesperson for the event, speaking directly with the press. They will also work with any reporters covering the wedding if there’s a magazine deal (or similar) in place, she said.
Other members of the PR team could curate and share images on social media or release them to the press, and someone will be monitoring any online backlash.
Riaz said that large-scale events tend to have someone very experienced in crisis management onboard, who can step in if something goes wrong.
The political climate is a big consideration
The PR team considers the social moment in which the event is occurring in granular detail. “The political climate is everything when planning a high-profile event. PR today isn’t just about glitz and glam; it’s about what the glitz says in context,” Riaz said. In other words, they have to read the room.
In the context of a lavish event, it’s crucial for publicists to consider that in 2025 most people are feeling the weight of a cost-of-living crisis, climate anxiety, and rising wealth disparity, she said.
“We don’t just ask, ‘Will it look fabulous?” We ask, ‘Will it land well right now?”
They will evaluate what people are currently angry about, what’s trending, and what’s considered a “cancellable offense.”
NDAs and rehearsals can be used to protect the narrative
Due to the level of public scrutiny a major celebrity event will receive, a lot of effort goes into maintaining the image and narrative the VIPs wants to project.
Non-disclosure agreements are everywhere. Florists, chefs, sound engineers, drivers, and even the person handing out umbrellas will be required to sign an NDA, Riaz said. Even a blurry Instagram story from a guest “could hijack the whole narrative,” she said.
Riaz said that she’s worked on events where the hosts have rehearsed their reactions and had body-language coaching. For example, the couple might practice their facial expressions and where they stand for photos. “This is because even if there is a whiff of awkwardness, the press will run with this narrative,” she said.
They might rehearse their entrance, for example, and the PR team will film it, review the footage, tweak cues, and re-stage key moments, Riaz said.
This is known as “performance PR” and is “very common” in the industry, she said.
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