Greta Gerwig Explains Why She and Noah Baumbach Decided to Have a City Hall Wedding After 12 Years Together

A representative for the 'Barbie' director confirmed to PEOPLE that she and her longtime partner tied the knot last month

Greta Gerwig is spilling the details of her and Noah Baumbach's decision to finally tie the knot!

In December, a representative for the Barbie director, 40, confirmed that she and her longtime partner, 54, officially wed at New York City Hall after 12 years together.

At the Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala Thursday night, Gerwig shared with ET why she and Baumbach decided now was the right time to call each other husband and wife.

"We wanted to do it, we kept waiting for a moment to make a big wedding, but suddenly we were like, 'We'll do a big wedding at some point, but let's just do it,' " she told the outlet.

"And we were like, 'Let's go to city hall, and let's go to Billy Joel,' " added Gerwig, who was photographed with her husband on Dec. 19 at Madison Square Garden, where they apparently celebrated their nuptials.

Related: Greta Gerwig Selected as Jury President for 2024 Cannes Film Festival: 'I Cannot Wait'

The couple, who now share a 4-year-old son, Harold Ralph Gerwig Baumbach, and a baby they quietly welcomed in 2023, first met on the set of Baumbach's 2010 film, Greenberg, and began dating in 2011.

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In December 2019, Baumbach opened up to Vogue about what he enjoys most about working alongside Gerwig. The pair have teamed up on several projects, including White Noise, Mistress America, Greenberg, Frances Ha and the 2023 blockbuster Barbie.

"I think the pleasure of writing for us is that it seeps into everything," he told the outlet. "I'd show her a cut of my movie, and then a few months later, I'm watching her movie."

"I don't want to sound sickeningly happy, but it's a truly great thing to watch someone you love make something and love the thing they make," Baumbach added. "I don't know how else to say it without saying great a lot."

Related: Greta Gerwig Jokes She Worries She'll 'Wake Up' and Find Out the Barbie Praise 'Was a Dream'

During a Q&A with both Gerwig and Judd Apatow in October, the Barbie screenwriter revealed that while he initially thought the project was "a terrible idea," Gerwig signed him up.

Eventually, as Baumbach said, he realized the film was the "best thing we've ever written."

"I know enough always just to follow what Greta says, so even in my bellyaching and revolting, I kind of knew, 'Well if she really believes it, then there's something there,' " he said, per Variety.

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