VENICE: Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez tied the knot at a sumptuous ceremony with the rich and famous on an island in Venice`s lagoon on Friday, out of the sight and sound ofprotesters.

`This city seems impossible! It can`t exist and yet, here it is!` an enchanted Bezos told a La Repubblica reporter on Thursday after he got close to the magnate as he whizzed around the canals by boat.

But protesters had a different view, wondering how long Venice can endure: while the billionaires party, activists say the fragile city is sinking, overrun by tourists, and a victim of depopulation as locals unable to pay soaringrents areforced out.

`No Kings, No Bezos`, read a sign in green neon projected on the St Mark`s Campanile tower on Thursday night.

Serenaded Bezos and Sanchez, a former news anchor and entertainment reporter, celebrated their nuptials with guests including Kim and Khloe Kardashian, Oprah Winfrey and Orlando Bloom.

The tech magnate, 61, and Sanchez, 55, are staying at the Aman hotel, a luxury 16th-century palazzo on the Grand Canal with a view of the Rialto bridge.

Other A-list guests are staying at the Gritti Palace and the St Regis.

The couple exchanged vows at a black-tie ceremony on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore on Friday afternoon, according to Italian media reports.

The wedding is thought to have taken place in a vast open-air amphitheatre on the island, which sits across from Venice`s iconic St Mark`s Square.

The newlyweds were serenaded by Matteo Bocelli, son of the famed opera singer Andrea Bocelli.Michelin-starred chef Fabrizio Mellino prepared the wedding dinner, while the cake was made by French pastry chef Cedric Grolet.

Sanchez is reported to have prepared 27 outfits to wear during the festivities.

`Enchanted` Wedding guests snapped by paparazzi as they hopped into boats included Jordan`s Queen Rania, French luxury goods executive FrancoisHenri Pinault, American football player Tom Brady, US fashion designer Spencer Antle, the singer Usher, and Ivanka Trump, daughter of the US president, and her husband Jared Kushner.

The guests lunched on Thursday in the gardens of Villa Baslini, on the islet of San Giovanni Evangelista.

The celebrations are set to end on Saturday with a party likely at the Arsenale, a vast shipyard complex dating back to when the city was a naval powerhouse.

BezosandSanchezhave donated three million euros ($3.5m) to the city.

Venice`s oldest pastry maker Rosa Salva has been baking 19th-century `fishermen` biscuits` for party bags that also contained something by Laguna B, renowned for its handblown Murano glass.

Ivanka Trump and her family visited a glassblowing workshop on the small island of Murano on Wednesday, according to the owner.

`They were amazed and enchanted by the magic of glass,` Massimiliano Schiavon told the Corriere della Sera, adding that the family had a go at blowing glass.

Venice, home to the oldest film festival in the world, is used to VIPs whizzing around in speed boats, and happily hosted the star-studded nuptials of Hollywood actor George Clooney in 2014.-AFP