Photo: Craig T Fruchtman; Photo: Getty Images/Getty Images

Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez are getting married in Venice, Italy next weekend and the city’s locals are pissed. They’ve threatened to wreak havoc on the lavish wedding events by blocking the streets and canals to cause disruption, and have hoisted up signs that say “No Space for Bezos” and another that has a bright red “X” over the billionaire’s name. Amidst all of the backlash, the Bezos-Sánchez wedding planners are standing by their clients.

“From the outset, instructions from our client and our own guiding principles were abundantly clear: the minimizing of any disruption to the city, the respect for its residents and institutions and the overwhelming employment of locals in the crafting of the events,” Lanza & Baucina Limited said in a statement released to local press, per “Page Six.” The company, founded by Prince Antonio Licata di Baucina and Count Riccardo Lanza, says that they’ve been actively working to avoid impacting the city negatively since they started planning.

“We have always acknowledged the wider debate and critical issues surrounding the city’s future, and from the outset our client has been honored to support the city and its all-important lagoon through non-profit organizations and associated projects,” the statement reads. They also addressed the report from the London Timessaying that the Bezos crew has booked all of the city’s water taxis. “Rumors of ‘taking over’ the city are entirely false and diametrically opposed to our goals and to reality. No exaggerated quantity of water taxis or gondolas have ever been booked, the number of taxis reserved being proportionate for the number of guests.”

Lanza & Baucina have produced plenty of high-profile weddings in Venice, including George and Amal Clooney’s and Salma Hayek and François-Henri Pinault’s, but they likely weren’t met with the same vitriol from locals. I’ll be keeping an eye out for the chaos promised by the Venetians — as one protestor said, “We can’t miss a chance to disrupt a $10-million wedding.”