Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s Intimate Las Vegas Wedding: Everything to Know About the Guests, Dresses and More

Credit: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s Intimate Las Vegas Wedding: Everything to Know About the Guests, Dresses and More

They do — finally! Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck tied the knot in a surprise ceremony in Las Vegas, two decades after their first engagement in 2002. "We did it. Love is beautiful. Love is kind. And it turns out love is patient. Twenty years patient," the Selena star wrote via her "On The J Lo" newsletter on July 17, 2022, hours after Us Weekly confirmed that she and Affleck tied the knot. "[The wedding was] exactly what we wanted. Last night we flew to Vegas, stood in line for a license with four other couples, all making the same journey to the wedding capital of the world." Adding that the pair "barely made it” to The Little White Wedding Chapel before midnight, Lopez married the Oscar winner in an intimate ceremony after they changed into their wedding outfits in the break room. “So with the best witnesses you could ever imagine, a dress from an old movie and a jacket from Ben’s closet, we read our own vows in the little chapel and gave one another the rings we’ll wear for the rest of our lives," the "Waiting For Tonight" singer continued. “They even had Bluetooth for a (short) march down the aisle. But in the end it was the best possible wedding we could have imagined. 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." She continued: “When love is real, the only thing that matters in marriage is one another and the promise we make to love, care, understand, be patient, loving and good to one another. We had that. And so much more. Best night of our lives.” Lopez and Affleck, who met on the set of Gigli in early 2002, got engaged for the first time in November of that year. Despite planning to tie the knot in a lavish ceremony in September 2003, the pair called it off just days before the wedding, revealing that the “excessive media attention” had taken a toll on their romance. They called it quits four months later. [jwplayer XnXARBl7-zhNYySv2] “It became a story in and of itself. The funny name, the Jennifer Lopez romance and overexposure of that, it was kind of a perfect storm," the Good Will Hunting star told Entertainment Weekly in January 2022 about how the attention on his relationship with Lopez overshadowed the film. “If the reaction to Gigli hadn’t happened, I probably wouldn’t have ultimately decided, ‘I don’t really have any other avenue but to direct movies,’ which has turned out to be the real love of my professional life. And I did get to meet Jennifer, the relationship with whom has been really meaningful to me in my life." Affleck reconnected with the Maid in Manhattan star in the spring of 2021 following her split from Alex Rodriguez and they were open about their determination to handle things differently this time around. “I think what we learned from the last time is that love, when you are lucky enough to find it, is so sacred and special and you have to hold a little bit of that privately and that’s what we’ve learned,” Lopez said during a February 2022 appearance on Today. “But we’re very happy, if that’s what you wondering about." In April 2022, the Argo director proposed for the second time, this time opting for an 8.5-carat green diamond ring. “Saturday night while at my favorite place on earth (in the bubble bath), my beautiful love got on one knee and proposed,” the “Dance Again” singer wrote in her newsletter at the time. “I was taken totally off guard and just looked in his eyes smiling and crying at the same time. [I was] trying hard to get my head around the fact that after 20 years this was happening all over again." Six months after the wedding, Lopez opened up about what led to their decision to exchange vows in Vegas, telling Jimmy Kimmel: “We were planning to get married in August in Savannah, the family was going to be there, everyone’s going to be there, and it was so stressful.” She admitted during the January 2023 talk show appearance that things “fell apart” when we were supposed to wed in 2004. “And this time, I absolutely had a little PTSD and I was like, ‘Is this happening?’” she continued. “We were so happy, but I just felt the wedding was so stressful. And one day Ben just said, ‘F—k it, let’s just go to Vegas and get married tonight.’” Keep scrolling to learn more about Lopez and Affleck's low-key Las Vegas wedding:

Credit: Brian Prahl/MEGA

Obtaining the License

A source confirmed to Us that the couple obtained a marriage license in Clark County, Nevada, on July 16, 2022, and tied the knot that same weekend. “They both are so comfortable with each other and make each other so happy, so they don’t want to wait any longer," the insider explained at the time. "They both thought it was a fun and casual way to tie the knot."

Lopez reflected on the experience in her newsletter, writing that she and the Justice League star "stood in line for a license with four other couples, all making the same journey to the wedding capital of the world. Behind us two men held hands and held each other. In front of us, a young couple who made the three hour drive from Victorville on their daughter’s second birthday — all of us wanting the same thing — 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.”

Credit: Courtesy of Jennifer Lopez/On The JLo

The Wedding Day

After obtaining their license and getting glammed up, the pair rushed to the Little Wedding Chapel and arrived just before midnight to tie the knot. “We barely made it," Lopez recalled. "They graciously stayed open late a few minutes." The bride walked down the aisle to music played from the chapel's Bluetooth speaker and read their own vows during the intimate ceremony.

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The Venue

Lopez and Affleck tied the knot at the Little Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. In her newsletter, the "On the Floor" musician thanked the venue for "letting me use the break room to change while Ben changed in the men’s room." The duo opted not to have an Elvis impersonator at their ceremony — "If we wanted Elvis himself to show, that cost extra and he was in bed," she joked — but did take photos in a pink Cadillac convertible after exchanging their vows.

Credit: Courtesy of Jennifer Lopez/On The JLo (2)

The Two Wedding Dresses

The Marry Me star wore two dresses on her big day. The first, which she showed off in a video shared by hairstylist Chris Appleton, was a textured, sleeveless white dress "from an old movie" that she had set aside for a special occasion. “I’ve had this dress for so many years, and I’ve just been saving it and saving it and saving it," she said in the clip. "And now I’m wearing it on my wedding day."

Once she arrived at the chapel, however, Lopez changed into a Zuhair Murad bridal gown that featured a sweetheart neckline, corseted bodice and long lace sleeves, which she accessorized with a matching veil.

Credit: Courtesy of Jennifer Lopez/On The JLo

The Groom's Tux

Affleck, meanwhile, chose a white tuxedo jacket "from [his own] closet" for the big day, and got ready for the low-key ceremony in the venue's men's room.

Credit: Courtesy of Jennifer Lopez/Instagram

Who Was In Attendance

Lopez hinted that the happy couple were accompanied by her kids on the big day. “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,” the Wedding Planner star wrote in her newsletter. “Stick around long enough and maybe you’ll find the best moment of your life in a drive through in Las Vegas at 12:30 in the morning in the tunnel of love drive through, with your kids and the one you’ll spend forever with. Love is a great thing, maybe the best of things — and worth waiting for."

She also shared a photo of Emme posing in the Cadillac alongside what appeared to be their twin brother, Max. (Lopez shares the twins with ex-husband Marc Anthony.) Affleck’s three kids — Violet, Seraphina, and Samuel — whom he shares with ex-wife Jennifer Garner were not at the ceremony. In January 2023, Lopez said her husband’s children were at “camp” at the time of the July 2022 Vegas wedding.

Credit: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

Changing Her Last Name

The "Let's Get Loud" singer signed her newsletter “Mrs. Jennifer Lynn Affleck," implying that she either has or will change her last name to match her new husband. The marriage license also reflects her desire to change her name. 

Credit: Rocco Spaziani/UPI/Shutterstock

The Vows

The twosome read their own vows, Lopez confirmed. A Little White Chapel employee named Kenosha Portis later offered more insight into the ceremony on Good Morning America in July 2022.

"As they were reading each other’s vows, they were very sweet, they both were emotional. They cried to each other. Their kids were right there behind them," she recalled. “Everything was very sleek and beautiful. She was stunning. She had a beautiful, white bouquet and he had a boutonniere that matched that, as well.”