Surprise! Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux managed to do the impossible — pull off a surprise A-list wedding. The Cake star, 46, and The Leftovers actor tricked some friends into thinking the fete on Wednesday, Aug. 5, was a birthday party for Theroux, who turns 44 on Aug. 10, but instead, the longtime couple finally said “I do” at their Bel-Air mansion. (And now, all is right with the world!)
“It was done completely on the sly,” an insider tells Us of the big night. “It was their closest friends and very simple and intimate. There were lots of laughs as well as tears and the mood was light,” the source added, noting it felt more like a “warm house party” than an over-the-top wedding. Aniston’s first wedding to Brad Pitt in July 2000 cost a whopping $1 million.
With her Chris McMillan-styled hair, the bride and groom made it official before cutting into a giant vanilla and strawberry cake, topped with two puppets, before pals Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Howard Stern, Sia, Chelsea Handler, Jennifer Meyer, Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Ellen DeGeneres, Lake Bell, and Scott Campbell among others.
Famed photographer and close friend Terry Richardson was also on hand to capture the big night, snapping photos for the couple to cherish for years to come while Sia sang her hit “Chandelier.”
Aniston, who planned the entire evening, kept things under wraps by swearing those close to her to secrecy and not allowing anyone use of their phones. According to one source, those closest to the star knew about the surprise nuptials months in advance.
Out-of-town guests prepared ahead of the shindig at the luxe Hotel Bel-Air nearby. They then watched the couple say “I do” before a pastor and in the backyard of the newlyweds’ $21 million pad where they later noshed on everything from chicken, fish, sausage, fettuccine carbonara with pork and mostaccioli pasta with red sauce, another source tells Us. “It was really, really good,” the source gushed of the food, adding that the “cake was delicious!”
According to a third source, Aniston, who even hired mobile dog groomers Spa Dog for her beloved pets ahead of the event, and Theroux’s wedding bands were designed by longtime friend Jennifer Meyer.
On Thursday, Aug. 6, the newlyweds then jetted off to Bora Bora out of Van Nuys Airport via a private jet to embark on their honeymoon. Along with them were guests Chelsea Handler and a handful of their other BFFs.
And by the looks of Handler’s morning after Instagram, the covert operation was a total success.
