Britney Spears' Nano-Nuptials

Spears and childhood pal hitched in quickie Vegas ceremony; rep says wedding was joke "that went too far"

By Marcus Errico Jan 05, 2004 6:45 PMTags

Did Britney Spears commit her biggest oops yet?

After a solid year of image adjustments, from wanton carousing to topless posing to Madonna macking, the pop tart just may have pulled her most un-Mouseketeer stunt to date. She got married in a quickie Vegas ceremony.

Spears tied the knot with Jason Allen Alexander, a childhood pal from her hometown of Kentwood, Louisiana. The Las Vegas Review-Journal says the two 22-year-olds were granted a marriage license from the city early Saturday morning.

Spears' no-frills nuptials went down shortly afterward at the Little White Wedding Chapel on the Las Vegas Strip, with the Britster eschewing the designer-gown route for a baseball hat and jeans. She was escorted down the aisle by a hotel bellman, and none of her family or friends was in attendance.

It could be a short honeymoon, though. According to singer's camp, Spears' vow-swapping foray was "a joke" that went out of control. Spears plans to annul the union ASAP, a move that would shatter Shannen Doherty's land-speed record for celeb splits.

Spears and Alexander met with a lawyer and signed paperwork Saturday afternoon to dissolve their marriage. They are expected to be officially solo again when the courthouse opens Monday.

Spears and Alexander got matrimonial-minded Friday, after (surprise!) a night of heavy-duty partying at the hipster Ghostbar in the Palms Casino Hotel. Spears had the resort shuttle her and her newly betrothed via limo to the chapel, a Sin City destination of choice for celeb I-do's, playing host to Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, Natalie Maines, Michael Jordan and even Frank Sinatra.

It was the Palms bellman who reportedly chauffeured the couple to the chapel, where they were told they needed a wedding certificate, and then to county courthouse sometime after 12:30 a.m. to obtain the proper paperwork. The driver then doubled as Britney's escort back at the chapel, giving the bride away around 5:30 a.m.. The ceremony was apparently recorded by the officiants, and a copy was given to Spears and her hubby.

The newlyweds retired back to the Palms for a honeymoon in one of the casino's swankiest suites. The missus reportedly spent Saturday night at a hotel restaurant with her manager, her brother, some friends and the owner of the Palms, George Maloof.

This is, of course, the first trip to the altar for Spears, who famously dated fellow popster Justin Timberlake for several years and most recently was linked to one of her backup dancers, Columbus Short. According to tabloid reports, Short left Spears in November and went back to his pregnant wife.

In an October interview with Newsweek, Spears talked about getting married and having kids--in about five years. But that was before Alexander entered the scene.

Alexander, who we presume bears no relationship or resemblance to the similarly monikered Seinfeld alum, is new on the Britney radar. He is said to be an old friend of Britney who recently reacquainted himself with her. They reportedly spent New Year's Eve at a Palms nightclub before leaving together.

Maybe the wedding news will help goose sales of Spears' latest album, In the Zone. The disc debuted at number one in November and has sold 2 million copies since--not bad, but nowhere near the 10.5 million in sales for her biggest album, ...Baby One More Time.

No word on whether Spears and Alexander plan on extending their honeymoon, but Britney has some free time before beginning rehearsals for her next tour, set to kick off March 2 in San Diego.

(Originally published January 3, 2004 at 10:15 p.m. PT.)