Streets cordoned off by the police. The paparazzi crowd into tiny press pens, with long lenses focused on the most notable celebrities. Locals and tourists change their travel plans in the sweltering heat as the city ushers in the biggest wedding of the year.

No, not in Manhattan, where New Yorkers are waiting to see if Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce will actually tie the knot at Madison Square Garden this weekend, but in Venice last June, where I reported on the lavish wedding of Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos.

A different summer, a different billionaire couple, but the same flexibility: transforming a world-famous monument into a private wedding venue.

Taylor Swift’s wedding is reminiscent of Jeff Bezos’s Venice party

Bezos and Sánchez’s wedding was impossible to miss as they walked through the canals of Venice, even after they moved their celebration from the iconic Scuola Grande della Misericordia to a location further from the city center. It was feared there would be a major confrontation between anti-millionaire activists and the couple, involving inflatable alligators, but the change of venue put that particular protest on hold.

In stiflingly hot and uncomfortably humid weather at the height of Venice’s tourist season, I watched the police cordon off the cobblestone streets. streets normally packed with tourists and locals, as paparazzi blocked narrow hallways in front of luxury hotels in hopes of capturing a photo of the celebrity guests. I’m pretty sure I saw Sydney Sweeney and Khloe Kardashian leaving a hotel in a water taxi.

Over the weekend, protesters sporadically climbed poles or displayed anti-Bezos banners in St. Mark’s Square, Venice’s main square. While I was surprised to find many Venetians largely indifferent to the wedding, others were furious. For them, their city had become a playground for the ultra-rich, and some of its most famous cultural monuments had become the backdrop for a private celebration.

Now it’s New York City’s turn. The New York Police Department confirmed to Business Insider that as of 1 p.m. Friday, five streets were closed to vehicles, two to pedestrians, four had controlled access, and certain entrances to Moynihan Train Hall and Penn Station were also closed for an unidentified event. Big weddings happen in New York City and Venice all the time, and they very rarely (if ever) result in road closures.

Long Island Rail Road, North America’s busiest commuter line, announced “access restrictions at the request of the NYPD” and urged those traveling through Penn Station to “consider traveling through Grand Central or Atlantic Terminal.”

Security announcements. Photos of laces going up. The secrecy surrounding an event in the heart of an iconic city. The inevitable online complaints from frustrated locals. All of this led me directly back to Venice.

A private Caribbean island or rural estate may offer privacy, but a landmark location offers something more: the luxury of celebrating a private occasion in a location known to millions of people who wouldn’t even dream of renting it.

Both couples sought to give something back to the cities, respectively. Bezos and Sánchez donated €3 million to Venetian institutions, including organizations that study the city’s fragile lagoon system and the UNESCO office in Venice. Meanwhile, Swift and Kelce have made charitable donations to nonprofits in New York City, including a local food bank.

Whether this weekend will be remembered for its generosity or its stagnation will depend on who you ask. For guests, it will be a celebration of Swift and Kelce’s love story. For those who make a detour through Midtown during a heat wave, it can feel more like a cruel summer.