When the news broke that Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck had secretly wed in an intimate, five-person ceremony in Las Vegas last month, most of us were —shall we say — surprised.
The notoriously glamorous pair were the OG noughties It couple and renowned individually for their no expenses spared lifestyles. So when they eschewed a grand affair for a quickie at A Little White Chapel, the internet was left scratching its head.
Following a decadent week-long adventure in Paris for their honeymoon, which included impromptu make-out sessions on park benches and teary dinners at swanky dining spot Girafe, we really thought they were all PDA-d out. Considering they called off their first engagement in 2002 because of excessive media attention, maybe they learned their lesson and really decided to have a more low-key affair this time around.
But no. Over the weekend the two made up for lost indulgence, hosting a massive $400,000, three-day ceremony for family and friends that reportedly involved months of preparation. According to Page Six, they hosted a pre-wedding rehearsal party, a ceremony and a final barbecue on Sunday over the jam packed weekend extravaganza.
From their unexpected officiator to their controversial wedding venue, here’s everything that went down in the long-awaited ceremony.
The venue: Affleck’s $8.9 million mansion
Like an epic Hollywood ending, the two wed at Affleck’s mansion in Georgia that he first bought for $7.1 million in 2003 after he first fell in love with the area after filming the 1999 film Forces of Nature there. He had originally planned to marry the actress there, and had even planned to build a chapel on its grounds, before their relationship ended in 2004. While Affleck recently put the sprawling 87-acre Georgia property up for sale for $8.9 million, he ultimately decided to keep the home and use it for a full circle ceremony with Lopez.
The house was built in 2000 on a former slave-operated plantation, and sits just south of Savannah where Affleck’s ancestors once owned slaves. In 2015, PBS show Finding Your Roots found extensive evidence that the actor’s great-great-great grandfather, Benjamin Cole, owned between 25 and 31 slaves at a Savannah farm around the 1850s through the Civil War, which Affleck controversially tried to get cut from the final episode. Consequently, some have raised their eyebrows at Affleck’s decision to wed there despite what he’s learned about his family’s past since he bought the property, especially as the living quarters for the plantation’s slaves were on the very same island the house is on, and an unmarked slave graveyard is located somewhere on the property.
The main “Big house” mansion is the jewel of the property and boasts 6,000 square feet of space, four bedrooms, five bathrooms and balconies that overlook the river. However, also on the compound is the 10,000 square foot Oyster House, which hosted the wedding reception, and Summer Cottage, a cosy house that features exposed brick interiors, pitched ceilings, a fireplace and a metal roof.
And the bride (and the guests) wore white
According to People, the bride wore a traditional white couture Ralph Lauren gown with a trailing veil and train as she walked down the aisle on a white carpet. What’s more, the pair also asked their guests to abide by an all-white dress code.
“This is as formal as I’ve been dressed since maybe my First Communion when I was 7,” tweeted director Kevin Smith, who shared a photo of his family and him dressed to the nines in white.
Considering that she wore two dresses during her shot-gun wedding in Vegas, including a Alexander McQueen dress “from an old movie” to fulfill her “something old” requirement, as per her On the JLo newsletter, as well as a glamââorous lace Zuhair Murad bridal gown, we’re sure the superstar had a few outfit changes which we’ll be treated to a look at on Instagram in the coming days.
The VIP guestlist and unexpected wedding officiator
According to E!, 100 friends and family attended their second wedding ceremony. Among them was Matt Damon, George Clooney, Jane Fonda, Renee Zellweger and Jimmy Kimmel.
Of course, both of the pair’s children, Violet, 16, Seraphina, 13, and Sam, 11, who Affleck shares with ex Jennifer Garner, and twins Emme and Max, 14, who JLo shares with ex Marc Anthony, were there. The blended family joined the newlyweds on their Parisian honeymoon, while Lopez’s twins were present at their Las Vegas wedding.
As for notable absentees: Affleck’s younger brother, Casey, 47, who reportedly missed the big day due to “family, parental obligations at home”, and Affleck’s ex-wife Jennifer Garner, who was filming in Texas.
Perhaps the oddest guest was one of the world’s most renowned motivational speakers and life coaches, Jay Shetty, who even officiated the vows. Although Bennifer 2.0’s nuptials aren’t the first high-profile wedding he’s officiated – he also married Lily Collins and director Charlie McDowell in Colorado last September – many were surprised to see the former British monk help the A list couple say “I do”.
However, Page Six revealed that the Marry Me actress handpicked Shetty to marry her and the Deep Water actor over the weekend. Lopez has collaborated with Shetty several times in the past, including on a 2021 episode of “Coach Conversations”, which is a YouTube series that pairs people together to talk about culture, community and creativity, as well as on Shetty’s “On Purpose” podcast in 2021.
With the “I dos” out of the way, here’s to a long and happy marriage between Hollywood’s long-awaited power couple.
