Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck Considered Eloping 'for a While': They Didn't Want a 'Spectacle' (Source)

Jennifer Lopez called her Las Vegas nuptials with husband Ben Affleck the "best possible wedding we could have imagined"

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck did their wedding their way.

A source tells PEOPLE that the weekend wedding in Las Vegas was "not completely unplanned" and they'd previously discussed a possible elopement.

"They were both comfortable with the idea of eloping," the source says. "They talked about it for a while. It was very important for them to have a private ceremony. They didn't want their wedding to be a spectacle."

"The Las Vegas ceremony was perfect. They both loved it. It was private and low-key," adds the source. "That's all they asked for."

On Saturday night, the pair flew to Las Vegas to get married. After obtaining a marriage license, they "barely made it" to A Little White Wedding Chapel by midnight, Lopez said in her On the JLo newsletter. "They graciously stayed open late a few minutes," she shared. Lopez said she did a "short" walk down the aisle before saying "I do" with Affleck.

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"In the end it was the best possible wedding we could have imagined. One we dreamed of long ago and one made real ... at very, very long last," she wrote, adding that it was "exactly what we wanted."

On The JLO

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Another source tells PEOPLE that the couple's "super small" ceremony was ideal since "they just wanted to be married so they got married."

In her wedding announcement newsletter — which she signed, "With love, Mrs. Jennifer Lynn Affleck" — Lopez, 52, said she and Affleck, 49, are "so grateful" for their love, plus "a new wonderful family of five amazing children and a life that we have never had more reason to look forward to." (She has twins Emme and Max, 14, and he has Violet, 16, Seraphina, 13, and Samuel, 10.)

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez. Rich Fury/WireImage

The actress, who rekindled her romance with Affleck last year and announced their engagement this past April, added, "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."