Lauren Sanchez Wedding Gown Inspired by Sophia Loren Dress

On Friday, Sanchez and the Amazon founder tied the knot in an intimate ceremony on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice, Italy. Just hours after the nuptials — which featured a handful of A-list celebrities in attendance — Vogue debuted Sanchez’s June digital cover, with the newlywed showing off her stunning, corseted, lace Dolce & Gabbana gown in photos shot during her final dress fitting in Milan.

In the interview, Sanchez, 55, shared details about the creative process behind her wedding dress, revealing that it was inspired by Sophia Loren’s high-necked white gown from the 1958’s Houseboat, in which the actress’ character, Cinzia Zaccardi, marries Tom Winters, played by Cary Grant. (See photos of Loren wearing the gown in the photos, below.)

“I researched pictures of brides in the 1950s. I wanted to reflect back, and I saw Sophia Loren and her hands were like this,” she said, imitating a prayer position, “and she was in high lace, up to the neck, and I said, ‘That’s it. That’s the dress.'”

Like the gown Loren wore in Houseboat, Sanchez’s gown features priest buttons — along a laced high-neck and corsetted bodice — but Sanchez’s buttons not only reached her waist, but continued into the train. Vogue said the gown featured “180 hand-finished, silk chiffon-covered buttons.”

“The whole thing was like a dream,” Sanchez said.

The entertainment journalist — who famously wore a lacy bustier under a blazer at President Trump’s inauguration in January — said her Dolce & Gabbana wedding dress — with its high neck — is the most covered-up formal gown she’s worn.

“It is a departure from what people expect,” Sanchez told Vogue, “from what I expect—but it’s very much me.”

She also opened up about the “traditions” she and Bezos decided to keep for their nuptials. While there weren’t many, Sanchez said she had something borrowed and blue.

She chose Dolce & Gabbana earrings for her something borrowed, while her something blue is a special memento from her Blue Origin space flight in April, in which she was one of the members of the all-female crew on her now-husband’s company’s New Shepard rocket.

“It’s something from my space flight,” she said, adding that she brought along an item for the 11-minute journey to bring back to Bezos “because it was literally one of the most profound experiences I’ve ever had in my life. Seeing Earth from space, I came down and I couldn’t describe it. It was the greatest experience I’ve ever had. Jeff said, ‘It’s gonna change you more than you think,’ and it completely has, visually, spiritually.”

Sanchez said the experience even influenced her wedding look.

“It went from ‘I want a simple, sexy modern dress’ to ‘I want something that evokes a moment,’ and where I am right now. I am a different person than I was five years ago,” she explained.

“I went into a lot of therapy and it’s changed me in a bunch of ways. But it’s really Jeff,” she added. “Jeff hasn’t changed me. Jeff has revealed me. I feel safe. I feel seen. He lets me be me. Like I said about Sophia Loren being unapologetically free, he lets me be unapologetically free.”

Following Friday’s nuptials, Sanchez officially changed her Instagram username to @laurensanchezbezos and removed all of her posts, and shared two from the wedding, including shots of her in her stunning Dolce & Gabbana gown.

“Not just a gown, a piece of poetry. Thank you @dolcegabbana for the magic you made,” she captioned the photo.

Sanchez and Bezos’ wedding marked their second time down the aisle for each of them, with the pair having children from their past relationships.

Sanchez is mom to son Nikko, 24, whom she shares with her ex Tony Gonzalez, along with son Evan, 19, and daughter Ella, 17, from her marriage to Patrick Whitesell. Bezos, meanwhile, welcomed four children during his marriage to Mackenzie Scott.