Jay-Z, Beyonce Make It Official

(andPOP) - After years of speculation, hip-hop’s reigning king and queen finally cemented their royal union with lavish nuptials in New York Friday.

Beyoncé Knowles and Jay-Z (born Shawn Carter) took out a marriage license days before the highly anticipated wedding and sent the celebrity gossip world into a frenzy. The couple added more fuel the marriage rumours when an onslaught of white flowers and furniture were delivered to Jay-Z's Tribeca loft prompting dozens of paparazzi to gather outside the apartment.

The wedding was confirmed to People by an inside source who was quoted as saying Jay-Z "wanted it to be a really private affair" with only the couple’s close friends and family.

The guest list included Beyonce’s well-known parents, stylist mom Tina and manager dad Matthew, her sister Solange, former Destiny's Child members Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, and the duo’s famous friends Gwyneth Paltrow and husband Chris Martin.

While the musically-inclined couple have yet to confirm the good news, the speculated wedding date (04/04/08) appears to make perfect sense since the number 4 is special to both artists. Beyoncé was born on Sept. 4 and Jay on Dec. 4. The rapper also named his club 40/40, and it is also rumoured that the pair has matching "IV" tattoos on their ring fingers.

Knowles, 26, and Jay-Z, 38, have reportedly been together for six years.