Lopez detailed the couple's Georgia wedding in the latest edition of her 'On the JLo' newsletter.
It was a wedding weekend to remember! Jennifer Lopez is giving fans an inside look at her wedding to Ben Affleck in the latest edition of her On the JLo newsletter.
"This is heaven. Right Here. We’re in it now," Lopez began, quoting a line out of the Affleck-direct film, Live by Night.
Calling it one of her favorite lines Affleck's ever written, Lopez told fans that "he also said it the night of our wedding reception in his speech."
After reveling in the perfect moment, Lopez said that the days leading up to the August affair were anything but. From the weather at Affleck's Riceboro, Georgia, estate to Lopez and Affleck each catching a stomach bug ahead of the wedding, nearly everything that could go wrong, did.
"It had rained at sunset every day that week. Everyone was worried about the heat, the aptly named 'love bugs,' the details, would the guests all arrive on time, etc. — not to mention the thunder and lightning that arrived almost on cue each day at the exact time the ceremony was supposed to start that Saturday. Oh, and all of us caught a stomach bug and were recuperating 'til late in the week, that, and along with a few other unexpected setbacks, had all the makings of a doozie of a wedding weekend," the "On My Way (Marry Me)" singer shared.
But even with all the setbacks and obstacles threatening their magical wedding weekend, Lopez said "she never had one doubt" about their storybook ceremony.
"All week I felt the calm and easy certainty that we were in God’s hands...," she added.
And just like that, the sun came out, rain was nowhere to be found and everyone was feeling healthy and ready to get this couple to the altar.
"At six forty-five, Saturday, August twentieth, the sun broke free and cast its rays like little diamonds dancing across the river behind the makeshift altar in our backyard. The sky was clear blue, and distant clouds of pure white held fast in the sky," Lopez recounted. "As the sun set behind the live oaks draped in Spanish moss, a warm breeze swept over the lawn where our closest family and friends sat and, at long-last, I started my walk down the stairs that would become the aisle that would lead me toward the rest of my life. Ahhhhh...it was actually happening..."
The couple walked down the aisle to two songs by Marc Cohn. The first, "The Things We've Handed Down," and the second, "True Companion," a song she said the couple had agreed was the "perfect wedding love song" while in Affleck's Georgia home more than 20 years ago, ahead of what would've been their first trip down the aisle. Lopez surprised Affleck by not only having the song play as she walked down the aisle, but by having Cohn himself at the wedding to play it live.
"Though Ben didn’t know, I asked Marc to surprise him by singing it at our wedding and he was lovely and generous to come. As I walked down the aisle, the first song he played wasn’t 'True Companion' however. It was his 'The Things We’ve Handed Down' — a song about the wonderful mystery of children — something we could only guess at back then, but it was the perfect choice as our five children preceded me on the walk," she shared.
The wedding wasn't just about the two of them, Lopez said, it was about the merging of their families, and marrying their five children -- Affleck's kids, Violet 16, Seraphina, 13 and Samuel 10, whom he shares with Jennifer Garner, and Lopez's 14-year-old twins, Emme and Max, whom she shares with Marc Anthony -- into a new one.
"The twenty years between those dreams of youth and the adult world of love and family we embraced that day, brought more to this marriage than either of us ever could have imagined," Lopez continued. We weren’t only marrying one another; we were marrying these children into a new family. They were the only people we asked to stand up for us in our wedding party. To our great honor and joy, each one did. As the eldest of our children finished her walk, Marc began 'True Companion,' a song we first listened to together what seemed both like yesterday and forever ago — and life came, strangely, beautifully, mysteriously, divinely full-circle."
Describing the moment as "better" than the way they planned it, Lopez said that "old wounds" were healed that day, and the weight of the past, of a love story that started in 2002, finally got its happy ending 20 years later.
"Some old wounds were healed that day and the weight of the past finally lifted off our shoulders," she said. "Full-circle — and not at all the way we planned it. Better."
The reception was a candlelit affair in Affleck's backyard, with string lights and lanterns helping light the way to a beautiful reception that featured delicious food, family and friends, all of whom came dressed in white.
In the newsletter, Lopez shared a photo of her and Affleck sharing a kiss in front of a neon sign that read, "Mr. and Mrs. Affleck."
Lopez wore three custom Ralph Lauren gowns for the occasion. The first was a handkerchief gown made of over 1,000 handkerchiefs, which were cut into ruffles to make an ethereal version of Ralph Lauren's classic turtleneck column dress.
For the second dress, 30 artisans worked to hand-embroider the chandelier pearl gown with micro-pleats of silk tulle, pearl embellishments, and Swarovski crystal, while the third featured a sleek mermaid silhouette with a keyhole neckline embellished with Swarovski crystals of varying shapes and shades of white, and is completed with a full skirt and topped with an organza overlay.
The designer shared more details about Lopez's handkerchief gown following the release of her newsletter Thursday, as well as behind-the-scenes shots of the detailed dress.
"JenniferLopez is a vision in her custom #RalphLauren handkerchief gown, a subtle contrast between nostalgia and modernity," Lauren described on Instagram. "The bespoke silhouette applauds our artisans' meticulous attention to detail, realized with more than 1,000 hand-cut handkerchiefs and 1,640 feet of fabric."
As for Affleck, he wore a classic Ralph Lauren Couture tuxedo, which included a formal one button peak cream dinner jacket with a black double pleated trouser and narrow piqué bib shirt. The look was completed with a black bow tie and black patent shoes.
In addition to Lopez's three outfit changes, the reception also saw fireworks and plenty of dancing, in what was truly was the perfect wedding and the "perfect timing" for the pair.
"For us, this was perfect timing. Nothing ever felt more right to me, and I knew we were finally 'settling down' in a way you can only do when you understand loss and joy and you are battle tested enough to never take the important things for granted or let the silly insignificant nuisances of the day get in the way of embracing every precious moment," Lopez shared. "We find ourselves in that long-desired time of life: having gratitude for all that life has shown us, even its trials and tribulations. That night really was heaven..."
The day after, Lopez was aglow as the couple and their family and friends joined them back on Affleck's sprawling Georgia property for a BBQ brunch.
"The day after, we all gathered for a yummy brunch by the lake. For those who are interested in such things, I have a few details of what we did decor-wise on each of the three days. I designed it and could easily talk about it for days! I wanted each day to have its own personality but fit the setting we were in for the weekend: the vibes were down-home, rustic country-chic," the Hustlers actress described.
Promising more details to come in her next newsletter, Lopez finished her post with a photo of her and her now-husband in the car following the fairy-tale affair.
"Years ago, we had no idea the road ahead would mean navigating so many labyrinths and hold so many surprises, blessings, and delights. It all culminated in this moment, one of the most perfect of our lives," she concluded. "We couldn’t have been happier. I wish all of you the same kind of happiness...the hard-earned kind that’s all the sweeter for the journey that came before it."
For more on the couple's wedding weekend, check out the video below.
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