Jay-Z and Beyoncé, who had their wedding in 2008, on stage together in 2018

Music

What Jay-Z and Beyoncé Have Said About Their Intimate 2008 Wedding

Beyoncé and Jay-Z got married in 2008. After nearly a decade of dating. The music power couple had an intimate ceremony with their closest friends and family.

by Chris Malone

Published on January 23, 2023

3 min read

Beyoncé and Jay-Z started dating when Beyoncé was 18

When Beyoncé and Jay-Z first met in 2000, Beyoncé was 18 years old. They started dating a year later, but Bey was in no rush to settle down. “I was 18 when we first met, 19 when we first started dating,” she revealed in a 2008 interview with Seventeen magazine, according to Today. “There was no rush — no one expected me to run off and get married.”

“I really don’t believe that you will love the same thing when you’re 20 as you do at 30. So that was my rule: Before the age of 25, I would never get married,” she continued. “I feel like you have to get to know yourself, know what you want, spend some time by yourself, and be proud of who you are before you can share that with someone else.”

Jay-Z explained why they kept the wedding secret

Beyoncé and Jay-Z ended up getting married on April 4, 2008. Beyoncé confirmed that they had gotten married in an intimate ceremony in an October 2008 interview with Essence magazine.

“What Jay and I have is real. It’s not about interviews or getting the right photo op. It’s real,” Beyoncé said, as reported by Today. For her, having a massive wedding wasn’t a huge priority because “It’s been my day so many days already.”

She also chose to buck the tradition of wearing an engagement ring. “People put too much emphasis on that,” she said. “It’s just material and it’s just silly to me.”

Instead of getting rings, the couple got matching tattoos on their ring finger of the Roman numeral IV, according to People. Beyoncé has a love for the number four: she was born on September 4, Jay-Z was born on December 4, they were married on April 4, her fourth studio album was named 4, and her daughter Blue Ivy’s name is believed by some to be a reference to the Roman numeral IV.

Jay-Z explained why the couple kept their wedding under wraps for months after the fact in a September 2008 interview with Vibe. “I just think it’s really a part of your life that you gotta keep to yourself,” Jay-Z said, as reported by NBC. “You have to have something sacred to you and the people around you. I shared so much of my life… I should have something to hold on to.”

Their marriage has been through highs and lows

In the years since their wedding, Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s marriage has at times been under a microscope. Back in 2014, Beyoncé’s sister Solange infamously hit Jay-Z while in an elevator with the couple, leading many to question why she would do such a thing.

In 2016, fans seemingly got their answer with Beyoncé’s seminal sixth studio album Lemonade. The album chronicles Beyoncé’s journey from first being betrayed and facing infidelity to finding peace and reuniting with her lover who wronged her. The following year, Jay-Z confessed to infidelity on his part and released an emotional album of his own, 4:44. The album is frequently considered to be his most honest and personal record to date.

The year after that, Beyoncé and Jay-Z celebrated their union — now stronger than ever — with the aptly-titled joint album, Everything Is Love.