Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez’s Las Vegas wedding at A Little White Chapel was full of “laughter, smiles and tears,” according to the minister who married them.
Ryan Wolfe told Vidak For Congress exclusively in a new interview that Affleck, 49, “gasped” when Lopez, 52, stumbled down the aisle — “as only Jennifer Lopez can” — to “Here Comes the Bride.”
“He saw her walking down the aisle and you could just see him say, ‘Wow, woah,'” Wolfe recalled. “He let out a small sigh. You could tell he was definitely in the moment.”
Wolfe – who “really believes” Affleck and Lopez are “soulmates” – added that he could “definitely tell their love is real” and sincere based on how they interacted during the intimate ceremony.
Wolfe recalled how it all started and told Vidak For Congress that it seemed like a normal Saturday night at work. Suddenly, around 9 p.m., the A-list couple pulled up in a black SUV at the venue and asked the Grace Christian Center head pastor and his coordinator, Kenosha Portis, if they had “time for another” wedding.
“Jennifer was wearing a white dress. She looked beautiful and gorgeous, as always. And Ben looked nice and smooth, as he always does,” said Wolfe, adding that the actor kept things casual and arrived in “jeans and a white T-shirt.”
Wolfe told us he had a chat with Affleck as he sent him to the men’s room to change, because the “Argo” actor insisted he “didn’t need anything special.” While Affleck quickly donned his tuxedo, it took a little longer for his leading lady to take off her vintage white dress and put on a Zuhair Murad dress.
“They came back through the doors and they’re just there. You know they’re somebody,” Wolfe said of the stars entering the chapel.
The couple insisted they wanted “nothing fancy”, asking only that they take their own vows and add “a little bit of God” to the ceremony.
“Their vows were beautiful, they were special. And I know they were very important to them. You could tell it was something between them that they wanted to share,” the pastor said. “It was a very special, emotional ceremony and a moment that they shared. And their kids absolutely loved it.”
The only other people in the room besides the couple, Wolfe and Portis, were Lopez’s 14-year-old daughter, Emme, and Affleck’s 13-year-old daughter, Seraphina, who acted as the sole photographers for the event. Although the wedding was small, Wolfe says the two kids brought all the excitement.
“You can tell Jennifer’s kid and Ben’s kid are definitely in a good relationship. They’re close,” Wolfe said, adding that after he announced Lopez and Affleck as husband and wife, the two teens were “excited” and hugged each other.
When Bennifer 2.0 said their “I do’s,” the pair sealed the deal with a kiss meant for the movies. The cuddling at the altar wasn’t “too long” but “very, very special,” with Wolfe joking that he should “take some notes from Ben.”
After their wedding, Wolfe transitioned from minister to photographer as he helped the happy couple take pictures in Elvis’ pink Cadillac and the tunnel of love ride.
Throughout his ministry career, the pastor estimates that he has conducted more than 10,000 weddings and can “feel” when a couple will make it. Apparently the vibes were good that night at the A Little White Chapel as he’s sure “this is it for them”.
But Wolfe isn’t the one who would bet money on the newlyweds. According to “The View” co-host Sunny Hostin, Lopez’s mother, Guadalupe Rodríguez, “always said that Ben [Jennifer’s] real love.”
The two stars rekindled their romance last year after the “Marry Me” actress ended her four-year relationship with former MLB star Alex Rodriguez. A year after the couple started dating, the actor posed the question for the second time with a huge green star.
The couple was previously engaged in 2002. They postponed their marriage in 2003 after it attracted too much media attention and eventually went their separate ways before getting back together in 2021. After the difficulty of planning their first wedding, sources told Vidak For Congress the couple would run away and then celebrate with friends and family.
While the couple enjoyed an intimate Sin City ceremony, the newlyweds plan a much larger “multi-day party” at Affleck’s 87-acre estate in Riceboro, Georgia. The big event will also serve as a birthday party for Jennifer, who turns 53. July 24.
Lopez confirmed her marriage to Affleck in the July 17 issue of her “On The JLo” newsletter, saying it was “just what we wanted.”
“We did it. Love is beautiful. Love is kind. And it turns out love is patient. Twenty years of patience,” she gushed.
“Stay around long enough and you might find the best moment of your life at a drive-thru in Las Vegas at 12:30 p.m. in the tunnel of love you drive through, with your kids and the one you’ll be with forever.” . Love is a wonderful thing, perhaps best of all – and it’s worth the wait.”