Jeff Bezos probably expected headlines about romance and celebrity glitz. Instead, he got memes. The Amazon founder and his fiancée Lauren Sánchez' Venice's wedding invitation leaked online and immediately triggered a digital roast session.
The wedding invite featured a curly italic font that reminded some of a middle school PowerPoint. It didn’t scream billionaire wedding, and the whimsical script set off alarms across social media.
Stock-style doves, butterflies, gondolas, and even Venice’s Rialto Bridge crammed the layout. It looked more like a greeting card template than an invite for a multi-million-dollar wedding. Graphic designers were especially unkind, calling it dated and chaotic.
thenaughtygossip / Instagram / One viral tweet labeled the invitation “Windows 95 clip art at its finest.” Others joked it could have been made with Kid Pix or early Paint programs.
Some even created fake redesigns in Canva just to show how quickly it could have been improved. The ease of mockery made it go viral fast.
Adobe Express didn’t sit quietly, though. The design platform posted its own cleaned-up version on Instagram. Simple fonts, clean layout, and a caption that read: “I know you said no gifts, but… it really only took us a couple of minutes.”
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The invite asked for no gifts, instead requesting donations to UNESCO and lagoon restoration groups. But the wording rubbed many the wrong way.
Some suspected the donation angle was a calculated move. Greenpeace and other groups had criticized the couple for hosting such a flashy wedding in Venice. People believed the invite's leak was a soft PR pivot.
Venetian activists made their disapproval very clear. Greenpeace banners accused Jeff Bezos of making over-tourism worse. One banner read, “If you can rent Venice for your wedding, you can pay more tax.”
Some graphic designers gave them a bit of grace. They guessed it might have been a digital draft and that a formal version went out to actual guests. Still, the damage online had already been done.
Bezos’ Aesthetic Took a Hit!
People compared the design to Bezos’ usual tech bro taste. References to his "hidden snap collar shirts" came up again. To some, the invite was just another sign he hadn't outgrown his minimalist, awkward style.
The wedding was lavish, with three days of events in Venice from June 26 to 28. The ceremony took place on San Giorgio Maggiore island, followed by a party at the Arsenale. The basic invite clashed hard with the extravagant setup.
Just Jared / IG / Jeff Bezos, 61, and Lauren Sánchez, 55, tied the knot in a lavish wedding in Venice.
Italian officials confirmed no formal marriage documents were filed. This led to speculation that Bezos and Sánchez legally tied the knot earlier in the U.S., using Venice for show.
Sánchez wore a custom Dolce & Gabbana dress with 180 silk-covered buttons and a lace veil. Her second outfit? A pink Versace gown. With that level of detail in fashion, people expected the same care for the invite.
Oprah Winfrey, Kim Kardashian, Leonardo DiCaprio, Bill Gates, and Elton John attended. With that lineup, many assumed the invite would be a designer statement. Instead, it felt like a printer test page.
The event cost somewhere between $20 to $50 million, covering venue rentals, private security, and performances. That price tag made the invite’s amateur feel even harder to forgive. The disconnect fueled more mockery.
Jeff Bezos may be used to leading the market, but this time, the internet wasn't buying it. The invite's design became the punchline to a wedding that was anything but low-profile.
