Like Ben and J.Lo, I married my ex in Vegas — and we're still going strong 9 years later

• My husband and I were together for 13 years before we split.
• Four years later, we reconnected and ended up getting married in Vegas.

I'm not saying J.Lo stole my thunder, but she's not the first woman to rekindle with an old flame, get engaged quickly, and head to Vegas for a quick, impromptu wedding at one of the chapels. I did the same thing nine years ago.

I can attest to how fantastic it is to give love a second chance.

For Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, it took two decades. For me and my husband, it took four years, but we were together for 13 before we split. Also like the Afflecks, we didn't waste any time: We got engaged after nine months, eloped two months later, and said our vows at a small chapel in the desert.

History matters

Ted and I met in the mid-1990s, working in a Baltimore restaurant, and barely dated before leaving town together, eventually settling on the West Coast, first in Oregon and then California. Our love truly began in LA, where we settled into our respective careers and planned for the future. It's also where it unraveled years later.

Looking back, I see how our lines of communication got crossed and priorities shifted. We struggled with personal and financial issues and grew apart while still living under the same roof. He took a job in another city, and we officially split a year later after failed attempts at a long-distance relationship. It was heartbreaking.

From my experience, the most painful splits are the ones that you never see coming. At least we didn't have to do it in front of millions of tabloid readers; I barely noted it on Facebook at the time.

Ted and I kept in touch through those lost years — after all, we were each other's best friend for more than a decade — but one specific email brought us back together.

I told him I was thinking about him, and he said the same. After some lovey texts, phone calls, and emails for a few weeks, we finally saw each other in person again. It wasn't just a spark this time; it was electrifying.

A quick-and-dirty Las Vegas wedding

We decided to turn my work trip into a wedding weekend. Between some events I had to attend, we got the license — at the same place as Ben and Jen — along with a dozen other couples, some already in gowns and tuxedos ready to run straight to the chapel.

There was no rare green diamond or 6.1-carat pink diamond on my finger. A colleague got us a special entry to the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop a few hours before our nuptials. Ted picked out a gold band engraved with leaves, which fit his love of nature; mine was a simple white-gold band studded with diamonds that matched my engagement ring.

We chose the Pop-Up Chapel because it had all the trappings of a hilarious Vegas wedding — disco-lit floor, a temporary backdrop of the famed "Welcome to Vegas" sign behind the officiant, and white chairs partially filled with life-size, stick-figure people in the seats.

Just before the ceremony began, a group wandered in from the casino; they're now in our wedding photo. While Ted recited his lovely handwritten vows to me, bystanders outside watched with their heads and hands pressed against the glass from the sidewalk.

Our 15-minute wedding was just another Las Vegas spectacle.

After calling our parents to share the news, we drank Champagne and cut our cake with a plastic knife in our suite.

At the end of the day, Ted and I have no regrets. We celebrated with friends and family in little private moments over the next year. And we didn't miss the expense and stress of an over-the-top wedding day. Our up-and-down love affair was our journey, just like Afflecks. Our respective Vegas weddings prove how little the frills matter.

We celebrate our ninth anniversary this year, which seems amazing for how quickly time passes and the long road we've traveled since meeting 27 years ago. Here's to that many years and more to come.

Lesley Balla is a food, travel, and lifestyle writer based in Washington. She lives with her husband and adorable dog Pucci, cooks a lot, and tries to soak up as much sun as possible in a few very short months. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter.