BRADENTON, FL- Weddings. A time of love, joy, and usually inescapable boredom for guests when the speeches drone on and the hors d’oeuvres no longer satisfy the hunger that comes with spending an entire day at an admittedly spruced up party. An event that you plan to attend several of and hope to only plan one of.
Celebrity weddings have always been a public spectacle, it seems the minute one signs their movie contract or joins a record label, they also sign away their right to a private life: a known risk. Most of the time weddings between two stars are shrouded in second-hand excitement and wishes of a happy and fulfilling marriage. However, the reminder of the difference in tax bracket can leave a foul taste in the mouths of the public.
A golden example is the recent Bezos wedding.
Before we dive into the issues many have raised regarding this celebration of joy, let’s look at some of the basic details. The wedding was between Jeff Bezos, famous(ly rich) businessman and founder of Amazon, and Lauren Sánchez, a news anchor and media personality.
The guest list was star-studded. 200 people, virtually all famous. From actors and actresses to tech CEOs that are a little too AI-happy for comfort, and everything in between (some of my favorites being Tom Brady, Usher, and Oprah). This wedding looked more like some strange hybrid-award ceremony, than a wedding filled with friends and family. It’s strange from an outside perspective, that’s for sure, but why has it caused controversy? After all, it may be strange, but it isn’t our wedding. I’m so glad you probably didn’t ask.
Eat the Rich
Ok, let’s be honest, rich people can be quite annoying. Seeing someone so carelessly spend excessive money while the general public is struggling to make ends meet stings and can cause mass jealousy that clouds the conversation around an event. In this case a range for the exact figure was released: £40-48 million, or $46-55.6 million. For scale, the average income for a single person was $39,982 in 2023, meaning this wedding is 115,051.773 – 139,062.578% of the average American’s annual salary. So, you could say that most can’t even conceptualize spending that much money on a single event. This incredibly out of touch statistic made several, who ordinarily would’ve simply ignored the happy couple, feel a sense of not entirely unfounded injustice.
Over tourism and the Environment
Only a short time ago people began to become more conscious of the undeniable harm many celebrities have been doing to the environment, from the Kardashians to Taylor Swift (Swifties, I come in peace), their private jets and excessive pollution has been given some spotlight after being ignored for generations. The newlyweds are no exception.
The extravagant wedding took place in the Italian city of Venice, one which has recently had economic and environmental issues with over tourism. Citizens didn’t keep these criticisms quiet and openly wished for less tourism until the issue is remedied. This meant that such a large wedding in such an area came with a healthy dose of controversy.
The wedding was met with peaceful but insistent protest from locals who made it exceptionally clear that not only was the wedding against the will of the locals, but causing them great distress.
Overall
This is a surprising, complex issue that is nearly entirely unimportant for the average person. So, should this be a concern? Honestly, no, but who doesn’t like occasionally criticizing the filthy rich?
