Bennifer’s Wedding Was “Exactly What We Wanted,” Says J. Lo

Forget the third time — the second is officially the charm for Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck. The reunited couple got married over the weekend after obtaining a marriage license on Saturday, July 16 in Clark County, Nevada, as reported by TMZ on July 17. The newlyweds then confirmed their union themselves, with Lopez sending an announcement to her “On the JLo” newsletter subscribers Sunday evening. Her subject line? “We did it.”

While early reporting by E! revealed that the Bennifer nuptials took place in Sin City at A Little White Wedding Chapel, details were still scarce. Luckily for fans, Lopez gave further intel in her newsletter. Calling it “exactly what we wanted,” she shared that they flew to Vegas on Saturday, where they joined four other couples in waiting for a license. Their mutual hope, she wrote, was “for the world to recognize us as partners and to declare our love to the world through the ancient and nearly universal symbol of marriage.”

The ceremony itself wasn’t a star-studded affair, but J. Lo called it the “best night of our lives.” They managed to get to the chapel by midnight, which “graciously stayed open late a few minutes,” and they took photos in a pink Cadillac convertible that Elvis Presley is said to have once used — including Lopez’s 14-year-old daughter, Emme. The singer noted that they couldn’t get the king to show because “that cost extra and he was in bed.”

As for attire, Lopez said she wore “a dress from an old movie” while her groom had on a jacket from his closet. Lopez’s stylist Chris Appleton shared a sneak peek of the dress on Instagram, asking the singer how she was feeling. “I feel amazing, I’m so excited,” said Lopez, looking absolutely stunning.

The march down the aisle was short, she added, but they had Bluetooth. When it came time to exchange vows, they had promises they’d written themselves, and they exchanged rings they plan to wear for the rest of their lives. “In the end it was the best possible wedding we could have imagined,” Lopez wrote. “One we dreamed of long ago and one made real (in the eyes of the state, Las Vegas, a pink convertible and one another) at very, very long last.” Lopez signed the newsletter “With love, Mrs. Jennifer Lynn Affleck.”

Once the first reports of the couple’s marriage were out there, an “On the JLo” wedding update seemed likely. The singer revealed her second engagement to Affleck in a video sent to her subscribers after he popped the question in April. In it, she showcased her stunning green ring, explaining it’s her lucky color, which, yes, seems to track. “We’re so lucky,” she said in the video. “It’s not often we get a second chance at true love.”

The couple famously reunited in the spring of 2021, nearly 20 years after they first dated, with the flame reportedly rekindling that May after some friendly hangouts. Prior to that, they’d been engaged for over a year in the early aughts, from November 2002 till they went their separate ways in January 2004. Media scrutiny was a serious struggle for them at the time, and it was even the reason they cited for postponing their first attempt at a wedding in September 2003.

“Due to the excessive media attention surrounding our wedding, we have decided to postpone the date,” they said, in part, in a statement, per ABC News. “When we found ourselves seriously contemplating hiring three separate ‘decoy brides’ at three different locations, we realized that something was awry.”

After that wedding planning nightmare, it’s not a surprise that their 2022 wedding was a more secretive affair. Lopez talked to Rolling Stone in February about “the benefit of experience and the wisdom” they’d gained over time and how they’d achieved a better balance with “what to share, what not to share.” She also noted that they were expecting a different outcome than the first time around, saying, “I don’t think we would have got back together if we thought that was where it was headed.”

The couple’s marriage unites their two families, which include Affleck’s three children, Violet, Seraphina, and Samuel, as well as Lopez’s twins, Emme and Max. It’s a prospect the two-time Grammy winner is clearly thrilled about excited about. “They were right when they said, ‘all you need is love’,” Lopez wrote in her newsletter. “We are so grateful to have that in abundance, a new wonderful family of five amazing children and a life that we have never had more reason to look forward to.”