Jennifer Garner Threw a ‘Wedding’ for Herself to Celebrate Her 50th Birthday

It sounds like Jennifer Garner had quite the unusual 50th birthday celebration. According to an interview the Adam Project star conducted with Town & Country, she apparently threw herself a “wedding” to celebrate 5 decades of life.

While Garner seems to enjoy more laid-back affairs, like cooking at home and sharing funny viral videos (according to her Instagram, at least), the 13 Going on 30 star decided to make her 50th birthday a big one.

“I basically had a wedding for myself,” the A-lister told Town & Country's Mickey Rapkin as she chuckled to herself.

Garner noted that this type of celebration was unusual for her. “I was so shocked that I was doing it,” she said. But as Rapkin noted, Garner's 50th fell exactly on Easter this year, so although it started out as a family affair, it quickly grew into a lavish event.

However, in her typical philanthropic style, the Juno actress used the event as an opportunity to give back. “I put everyone to work,” Garner said.

In lieu of presents, the 50-year-old asked her guests to help her fill 5,000 backpacks full of food to donate to the non-profit Blessings in a Backpack. Each backpack was filled with enough to feed a family of four.

Garner has been a strong advocate for equitable and healthy food options for everyone. In fact, the Valentine's Day star helped co-found the organic and farm-fresh organization Once Upon a Farm, which partners with Save the Children.

In her T&C interview, Garner explained the efficacy of Save the Children, and why she partners with them. “If you look at the way Save the Children spends money, if you look at our ratings, if you look at the three-year-olds who have been in our home visitation programs for three years versus their neighbors who have not had that same intervention, the kids in our programs test in line with middle-class kids in the rest of the country,” she said.

While Garner spent her 50th birthday trying to give back, she also got a gift in the form of a surprise visit from singer Donny Osmond, who serenaded her while she ate at a restaurant.

“My first (pre)birthday surprise was a doozy,” Garner wrote as she shared a clip from the moment to Instagram. “The one and only, legend in his own time, object of my childhood adoration and devotion—@donnyosmond showed up to knock my purple socks off. He took an hour and a half of his day to sit with me, sing my favorites, and to give me a master class on how to be a class act. Thank you, Donny. Hi, @marieosmond. [smiley emoji]. I hope to meet you someday, Debbie.”

We're glad you had such a fun 50th, Jen (and if you wore anything resembling a wedding dress, we're gonna need to see that outfit ASAP).

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