E! Online News – J.Lo & Marc Anthony: They Do!

by Marcus Errico
Jun 5, 2004, 9:35 PM PT

Bennifer, shmennifer. Better get used to Mennifer, or J.Ant.

Setting all kinds of land-speed records, Jennifer Lopez married Marc Anthony Saturday evening in a hush-hush backyard ceremony at her Los Angeles mansion, according to Us Weekly.

The nuptials went down just five months after the made-for-the-tabs romance of J.Lo and Ben Affleck imploded following a scuttled wedding, and just five days after a judge in the Dominican Republic signed off on Anthony’s divorce.

Publicists for the two entertainers were not immediately available for comment, though previously their reps fiercely denied the two were even romantically involved (“just friends” was the standard-issue refrain)–even after Lopez started sporting a huge rock on her finger that looked suspiciously like an engagement ring.

Unlike the actress-singer’s aborted wedding to Affleck–which drew a legion of press to Santa Barbara in anticipation–Saturday’s ceremony was kept under serious wraps, Us Weekly says. Only a few dozen guests were in attendance, described by the glossy as the couple’s “closest friends and family”…and Ricky Martin.

Taking place beneath a white tent, the ceremony kicked off around 6 p.m. and clocked in at under 30 minutes, Us reports. The whole affair had a tropical Latin theme, complete with exotic flowers, Latin music and, um, bagpipes. (We couldn’t make this stuff up.) J.Lo was said to have sported a short, sexy beige dress with spaghetti straps to greet the guests, before changing into a formal gown.

This is the third trip down the aisle for Lopez, 33, and the second for Anthony, 34. Her first marriage, to Cuban waiter Ojani Noa (who eventually graduated to managing Madre’s, her Pasadena, California, restaurant), ended in divorce in 1998, after a less than whopping one year. Her second, to choreographer Cris Judd, was a 10-month affair that disintegrated as she hooked up with Affleck. Between her marriages she was famously courted by Sean “P. Diddy” Combs.

Lopez actually dated Anthony years ago, but that initial coupling didn’t take–she moved on to Combs, and the salsa-singing star wound up married to former Miss Universe Dayanara Torres. Their hot-cold relationship ran out of steam in January, about the same time Lopez and Affleck announced their split.

As rumors of the renewed Lopez-Anthony relationship heated up–they were spotted canoodling at movie screenings and in restaurants–the Grammy-winning “I Need to Know” crooner flew to the Dominican Republic a week ago to fast-track his divorce.

A judge in the Caribbean country, which is known for insta-splits, okayed the petition on Tuesday, with Anthony agreeing to give Torres a couple of luxury cars, some choice real estate, $3,500 per month in alimony and $13,000 per month in child support, for the couple’s two young sons.