It's Her Party! Jennifer Lopez Celebrates Her 50th Birthday with a Lavish Star-Studded Miami Bash
It’s Jennifer Lopez’s party!
To celebrate her 50th birthday on Wednesday, the star hosted friends and family for a lavish blowout bash at Gloria and Emilio Estefan’s sprawling estate on Star Island in Miami.
“It was actually epic — it was a real friends and family thing,” a source inside the party tells PEOPLE. “It was like the closest people in her life and you could tell by the way she said hello to everyone that it wasn’t work.”
According to the source, Lopez arrived to the gold-themed bash around 9 p.m. sporting a sexy, metallic cut-out Versace dress with a high slit along the leg. She topped off her birthday look with a high ponytail and large hoop earrings. Fiancé Alex Rodriguez — who gifted her a red Porsche for her milestone celebration — wore a dapper black suit and tie.
Décor included giant gold balls on the outskirts of the property, and most women wore gold, while the men were dressed in white. A sit-down dinner with assigned seating kicked off the night, and the food was served buffet-style (with a huge caviar bar open for the taking!).
“Right before the buffet stations opened, Alex made a toast,” says the source. “He thanked the Estefan’s for having them and said how proud he is of Jennifer on this tour.”
“After dinner, everybody moved to the dance floor portion of the tent and encircled it,” the source continues. “The cast of her [“It’s My Party”] tour performed medleys and montages of her songs, and she watched with Alex and her kids and her mom. Then there was a fireworks show over the water.”
At the party, DJ Cassidy — who previously deejayed at Lopez’s 40th birthday party — and DJ Don Hot spun tunes for a dancing crowd, stopping only for the presentation of Lopez’s massive, gold and black birthday cake. Decorated with white and yellow flowers, sparklers, rhinestones and shiny fleur-de-lis, the 10-tier creation took four men to carry it out on the floor. “It must have been a 12-foot tall cake,” estimates the source.
Lopez and the former Yankees star, 43, shared a sweet smooch in front of the cake, drinks in hand, before it was cut and served.
After cake, the DJ started playing 50 Cent’s, “In Da Club.”
“Everyone started screaming ‘Go J. Lo, it’s your birthday! Party like it’s your birthday!’” says the source.
Helping Lopez celebrate at the Estefan’s home (which happens to neighbor Lopez’s ex Sean “Diddy” Combs’ home) were fellow musicians. The star got a solo performance from pal Pia Toscano who sang “Don’t Rain on My Parade” and later DJ Khaled, Fat Joe and Ashanti, all jumped on stage soon after and spontaneously performed some of their biggest hits, including “What’s Luv?,” “All the Way Up” and DJ Khaled’s “All I Do Is Win.”
According to the source, “That whole performance was when [Lopez] went crazy. And when they played her song that DJ Khaled is on, ‘Dinero,’ her dancers picked her up on their shoulders and she sang along. The DJ and all the music she loves was a major part of the party.”
Rodriguez shared video of the moment Lopez danced to “All the Way Up” at the DJ booth to his Instagram with the caption, “TONIGHT was a Jenny from the Block party, and we took it from the Bronx all the way to the 305!!!”
“Happy 5-0, @JLo. Te amo mucho,” he added.
A post shared by Alex Rodriguez (@arod) on Jul 24, 2019 at 11:33pm PDT
Lopez re-posted Rodriguez’s video to her own Instagram account, writing in the caption, “a lil bday turn up.”
The night also included special performances from some people very close to the superstar — her twins!
Maximillian and Emme, 11 (whom she shares with ex-husband Marc Anthony) serenaded their mom with a birthday rap and a song. Both kids, as well as Rodriguez’s daughters Natasha, 14, and Ella, 11 (whom he shares with ex-wife Cynthia Rodriguez) — have frequently made appearances both on stage and in the audience of Lopez’s “It’s My Party” tour performances.
Lopez and Rodriguez stayed at the party and danced until 3 a.m., says the source. Rodriguez refused to be out-danced by his dancing queen fiancé, taking his jacket off and opening his shirt to get a little extra wiggle room.
“They were some of the last to leave,” says the source.
On Thursday, Lopez reflected on her big day by sharing photos from the party — which was sponsored by her recent campaign partners PrettyLittleThing and Quay Australia — to her Instagram.
“It’s been a birthday to remember,” she wrote in her caption. “I can truly feel the love from all of you. Yesterday was a dream. I have watched your beautiful birthday videos and I must’ve cried 20 times. It was just another great reminder of how thankful I am for all the beauty and love I have in my life. Thank you all for being a part of this great feeling! @arod, Benny, @quayaustralia, @prettylittlething and so many more! The party continues tonight!!!”
A post shared by Jennifer Lopez (@jlo) on Jul 25, 2019 at 10:12am PDT
This weekend, Lopez will close out her tour — which kicked off in Los Angeles in June in honor of her birthday — with three final performances on Thursday, Friday and Saturday night at the American Airlines Arena in Miami.
Earlier on Wednesday, Rodriguez posted a sweet video montage for Lopez on Instagram for her birthday.
“Hi baby girl, just want to wish you a happy birthday,” Rodriguez said in the video. “I cannot believe this, baby girl. Since we’ve been together you have made me feel like every day is my birthday.”
RELATED: A-Rod Wishes J. Lo a Happy 50th Birthday: ‘You Are Simply The Best Partner In Life’
“Thank you for your passion, and your energy, and your inspiration, and your endless pursuit to be the best at everything that you do,” he added. “You are simply the best partner in life, the best daughter, the best mother, the best performer. We love you, your fans love you, your children love you and I love you. Let’s make this birthday a very special one.”
On his Instagram Stories, Rodriguez also shared a video of the “Medicine” singer reading birthday wishes written on a card so large it towered over her.
“That’s amazing,” she could be heard saying of the card in the video.
Rodriguez and Lopez got engaged in March after two years of dating, and it seems they aren’t in any rush to start organizing wedding preparations just yet. During a recent catch-up, Rodriguez told PEOPLE, “We’ve talked [about plans] but nothing too concrete.”
Next, Lopez can be seen starring alongside Constance Wu, Lili Reinhart, Keke Palmer and Julia Stiles in the upcoming movie Hustlers.