Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez ‘s Venice wedding bonanza got under way Thursday with the couple sharing a kiss before leading their celebrity guests through the lagoon city to the first bash of the weekend. A string of water taxis cut through the lagoon to bring Bezos, Sanchez and their guests to the Madonna dell’Orto cloister on the Cannaregio district on the northern edge of Venice.

Paparazzi in their own boats followed close behind in a controlled chase, trying to capture the guests on camera, as police on jet skis patrolled a no-go zone. The details of the nuptials have been a tightly kept secret, though the guest list has firmed up as guests such as Oprah Winfrey, Orlando Bloom and former American footballer Tom Brady arrived Thursday.