Beyoncé Knowles has married rapper Jay-Z

Beyoncé Knowles has married rapper Jay-Z in a private ceremony in New York.

The couple's parents joined a group of close celebrity pals, including Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin, as well as Beyoncé's bandmates in Destiny's Child Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, and her sister Solange.

Jay-Z – real name Shawn Carter – and 26-year-old Beyoncé applied for a marriage licence last Tuesday and married on Friday night.
Award winning couple: Beyonce and Jay-Z are two of the biggest names in the urban music industry

They then threw a lavish party at Jay's apartment in the fashionable New York district of TriBeCa.

A large white marquee was erected on the top of the building and audio-visual equipment, large flower arrangements and a 5ft tall candelabra were also brought in.

Celebrity florist Amy's Orchids was hired to provide more than 50,000 white orchids from Thailand.
Ladies in white: Gwyneth Paltrow (left) and Beyonce's 21-year-old sister Solange arrives at the nuptials in New York

Guests – all the women wore white – were banned from bringing mobile phones inside and had to leave them with their chauffeurs.

A friend told People magazine late on Friday night: "It happened earlier this evening. Jay wanted it to be a really private affair – close friends and family."

Earlier, Rowland and Williams had posted a video of themselves on YouTube from their room at the Four Seasons hotel in which they teased viewers that they were at an 'undisclosed location' and refused to say why they were making the flying visit to New York.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z, 37, have been together for six years after teaming up for the rapper's single 03 Bonnie & Clyde.
Destiny's reunion: Beyonce's former Destiny's Child bandmate Michelle Williams arrives for the nuptials on Friday night

They also collaborated on her hit singles Crazy In Love and Déjà Vu.

They are the most successful couple in the R&B and hip-hop world.

Jay-Z, a seven-times Grammy winner, is reportedly poised to sign a £75million touring deal with Live Nation, while Beyoncé is worth about £15million.
Newlyweds?: Beyonce and Jay-Z, pictured on the French Riviera last summer, are reported to have married on Friday