The key way Beyoncé and Jay-Z deviated from tradition for their very private at-home wedding 18 years ago

For their nuptials, the couple kept things extremely simple, organizing the entire ceremony in their own New York City penthouse. The couple’s 13,500 sq.ft TriBeCa penthouse was transformed into the site of their grand wedding.

The massive living room served as the space for the actual ceremony, while adjoining rooms were then decorated for food and the dancefloor, with their close friend DJ Cassidy breaking out classics like Whitney Houston and The Jackson 5 for the after party.

Despite the grandiose setting for their at-home nuptials, Beyoncé and Jay-Z kept the guest list short and sweet, only inviting a total of 40 guests.

Chief among the invitees were, of course, family members, with Beyoncé’s parents Mathew and Tina Knowles, and her sister Solange Knowles in attendance, plus some of Jay-Z’s own family members, like his mom Gloria Carter. Among famous guests, the other members of Destiny’s Child, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, attended, as did friends and then-couple Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow.

While their wedding ceremony was filled with several classic traditions and customs, one subtle way the couple decided to emphasize the privacy of their ceremony was when it came to their wedding party.

Or, the lack thereof. The couple’s small guest list meant that they didn’t actually have a wedding party, with the only people at the altar being the officiant and the couple themselves.

The couple chose April 4 for their wedding day for a very special reason, that being the significance of the number itself in their lives.

Beyoncé’s birthday falls on September 4, with Jay-Z’s on December 4. The latter also happened to propose to the “Cuff It” singer on December 4, 2007, his 38th birthday. They each have the number (in the Roman numerals IV) tattooed on their ring fingers, and Beyoncé also named her fourth studio album simply 4.

In 2018, the couple decided to renew their wedding vows in another private ceremony, one they managed to keep completely secret until they shared footage of it during their On the Run II Tour later that year.

Unlike the first ceremony, when Beyoncé’s dress was designed by her mother Tina, this time she wore a custom Galia Lahav gown, and they were able to have their three kids in attendance as well.