I can’t explain why, but gay love makes me really happy. Significantly happier than straight love. Perhaps it’s the romantic in me, and the fact that they have to overcome so many obstacles. Which is the same reason I love inspirational sports movies. Obstacles suck, but make for a better storyline. Now that gay marriage is happening in California, many longtime couples are finally getting hitched, including a few famous ones.

Star Trek’s George Takei and his boyfriend of 21 years, Brad Altman, have taken out a marriage license in preparation for their September wedding.

Takei, 71, tells ET that his 54-year-old partner Brad proposed to him as the two were eating, just after the news was announced that the California Supreme Court had legalized marriage for same-sex couples. “He said George, will you marry me? And I said, ‘Darn it,’ with my mouth full, ‘I meant to do that, you beat me to it,’” Takei said.

The couple, who have been together for more than 21 years, arrived to a throng of reporters at West Hollywood’s auditorium and were first in line to pay $70 for a marriage license during a ceremony to honor same-sex couples.

Takei, who played Sulu in the “Star Trek” series, said a few of his TV co-stars will take pary in the wedding, planned for September 14th. “Our best man is going to be my colleague from “Star Trek,” WALTER KOENIG, who played Chekov, and the matron of honor is NICHELLE NICHOLS, who played Uhura.”

[From Entertainment Tonight]

Aww! That’s all I can say. It makes me all smushy inside. Supposedly George and Brad have created a nice bit of gossip drama by refusing to invite William Shatner to their wedding. But really, who would want such a scene stealer around on your big day? I can’t really blame them.

Here’s George Takei and Brad Altman receiving their marriage license in West Hollywood yesterday. Images thanks to WENN. Header video thanks to RedLasso.

American Pie star Jason Biggs eloped on April 23rd with his girlfriend Jenny Mollen. The two met while filming the movie My Best Friend’s Girl, and apparently fell madly in love pretty quickly. According to OK! Magazine, this past October Biggs, 29, said in an interview, “I am in love for the first time. I wanna put a baby in her belly.” That’s quite the statement to make, especially so publicly. So far, nothing’s been said indicating Biggs has already put a baby in Mollen’s belly – but I’m sure that, given his proclamation, rumors will start swirling pretty soon.

American Pie star Jason Biggs can now call Jenny Mollen his wife. A rep for the actor tells OK!, “The two eloped in a private, intimate ceremony on Wednesday, April 23, in Los Angeles.”

Though Jason and Jenny still plan on having a proper wedding ceremony with family and friends in July in Napa, Calif., the couple chose this path to keep the distractions out. “It is the real deal,” a friend of the newlyweds tells OK! “I have never known two people more in love.”

And right from the beginning of their relationship, Jason, 29, didn’t hesitate to let the world know his feelings about his sweetheart. In an Oct. 2007 interview, he announced, “I am in love for the first time. I wanna put a baby in her belly.”

The couple met on the set of their movie My Best Friend’s Girl and became engaged shortly after. For the sake of their marriage, let’s hope there was a wedding cake at the reception — and not an apple pie!

[From OK! Magazine]

My Best Friend’s Girl is set to be released on September 20th. Given that, it doesn’t seem as though Biggs and Mollen have known each other all that long – but it’s certainly no Mariah Carey/Nick Cannon situation.

Whenever I imagine a couple eloping, I picture them jetting off to some exotic locale, or at least somewhere that involves taking a trip. Considering the couple lives in Los Angeles and got married there, it sounds less like an elopement and more like a quickie wedding. Either way, congratulations to the happy couple.

Here are Jenny Mollen and Jason Biggs at the “Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay” Los Angeles premiere on April 17th. Images thanks to PR Photos.

Well I really hope Beyonce and Jay-Z’s “We’re not gonna discuss whether or not we’re married” thing works out really well for them. The two singers – who last time I checked, depended on fans and publicity for their large incomes – refused to say whether or not they had gotten married. And while I get that they wanted to keep it on the downlow prior to the event so that they could have a private ceremony, there was absolutely no need not to confirm the marriage after it had taken place. Part of me thinks they refused to do it in an attempt to get even more publicity. Either way, Beyonce and Jay-Z did marry on Friday, April 4th just like everyone thought.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z are mum, but their paperwork is doing the talking for them: The couple filed their signed wedding license Friday in Scarsdale, N.Y., PEOPLE has confirmed exclusively.

Scarsdale Town Clerk Donna Conkling tells PEOPLE the license – which lists the wedding date as April 4 – was received on Friday afternoon. The couple applied for the license just three days before the ceremony attended by friends and family, including Beyoncé’s mother Tina Knowles, her father/manager Mathew, her sister Solange, her Destiny’s Child pals Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, and the couple’s friend Gwyneth Paltrow.

Although the couple’s license was filed more than five days after the wedding – as required by law – Conkling tells PEOPLE it’s expected to be processed with the state without a penalty. (No special celeb treatment here: Conkling says the penalty is frequently waived.) Though sources confirmed the wedding to PEOPLE, the couple have remained silent about their nuptials. Shortly after the wedding, Beyonce was spotted with a ring while joining Jay-Z on tour, but neither of them have publicly stepped out with new jewelry.

[From People]

I don’t know why, but it really grates on my nerves that Jay-Z and Beyonce couldn’t just say yes or no after the fact. I totally agree that they have the right to privacy during their wedding – and of course they have the right not to tell people if they’re married. I just think it would have been courteous to give a simple yes or no one way or the other. A lot more talk went on due to their refusal to confirm anything in their attempt to “keep things private.” Though I’m guessing that was the real point all along. Refuse to ever talk about it, and get more press than ever. Or maybe Beyonce was just ashamed because of the supposedly tacky-ass job her mom Tina did putting the wedding together. I’m guessing that’s the more likely reason.

US Weekly and People cover images from coverawards.com via Gossip Rocks.

According to The National Enquirer, George Clooney has a small memorial to marriage in his mansion. He’s taken his old wedding ring from his first marriage, to actress Talia Balsam from 1989 to 1993, and strung it on a ribbon tied to two candlesticks along with the rings from three of his friends. They say that Clooney uses the display to show that he’s not getting married again:

“George has assembled an anti-marriage shrine by stringing his old wedding ring and those of three other buddies on a ribbon and tying it between two candlesticks,” a friend told The Enquirer.

“It’s not like he has anything against the institution of marriage, it’s just not for him. He doesn’t think a piece of paper telling you you’re married makes much sense. George’s homemade memorial is his personal tribute to staying single…

“But as far as tying the knot again, George has said ‘Been there, done that, won’t do it again,’” says his friend. “That’s how he’s explained his wedding ring memorial.”

You could see Clooney doing this for laughs but being serious about it at the same time, like he has to remind himself what he and his friends went through. Whenever I think about Clooney and marriage, I’m reminded of his cad divorce lawyer character in Intolerable Cruelty who got scammed into married scheming Catherine Zeta Jones’ character without a prenup. I know that’s just a film, but I can’t help but think there are parallels to Clooney’s life. It’s like he knows he doesn’t always think with his head and is trying to keep himself single by force of will.

Clooney’s latest and surprisingly long-lasting girlfriend, former cocktail waitress Sarah Larson, recently told a Las Vegas reporter that she met the famous actor a few years ago at a party, but wasn’t available to date him until they saw each other by chance at the Ocean’s 13 premiere. Clooney is rumored to have broke up with Larson briefly in mid March when he suspected she leaked the rumor that they were engaged in order to pressure him into popping the question. He is said to have reconciled with her after telling her there was no way in hell he’d ever marry her. I see a theme here. It could have been created by the tabloids, but it does have a ring of truth to it.

George Clooney and Rene Zelwegger are shown at the “Leatherheads” premiere in Rome on 4/10/08, thanks to PRPhotos. They sure look friendly.

Whoever says Madonna and husband of eight years Guy Ritchie aren’t still madly in love with each other clearly doesn’t know what the hell they’re talking about. Or maybe they just don’t really know what love is – because Madge and Guy sure do. The singer shares her secrets for a happy home life with OK! magazine, so that the rest of us can emulate the lovey-dovey couple.

An admitted control freak, the singer reveals she and Guy are addicted to their blackberries, even sleeping with them under their pillows!

“We lie right next to each other with our blackberries under our pillows,” she laughs. “I often wake up in the middle of the night and remember that I’ve forgotten something so I jump up and make notes. Guy’s always waiting for me to come to bed, so he plays Brick Breaker on his blackberry until I’m ready!”

[From OK!]

Awww, how romantic! Really, is there anything sweeter or more loving than jumping out of bed in the middle of the night to write down that you need to do an extra 50 reps of some arm muscle-enhancing exercise at the gym at three in the morning? And I’m sure Guy is just waiting with baited breath for his loving wife to return to bed. I think sleeping with Blackberries under your pillow is the 21st century equivalent of sleeping in separate rooms. Although if I were sharing a bed with Madonna, I’d do whatever I could to keep her away. God forbid she try to arm wrestle you or something.

Madonna also discussed what an average day is like for her. Hint: it involves suppressing her kids’ personalities so they always know she’s in control, lean fish, tree houses, and guns. Sounds uncomfortably similar to my own childhood.

“We have chickens and build tree forts there,” the Michigan native, 49, says of Ashcombe House [the English countryside estate she owns]. “Lola rules the roost,” the singer says. “She is extremely maternal toward David but is in major competition with Rocco. But he’s starting to fight back.” Of not allowing her kids to watch TV or read magazines, Madonna says, “You have to show them who’s in charge. If you give in to them, they’re going to run your life.”

The singer tells OK! a typical day for her includes regular Pilates and dance aerobics, shooting, fishing and riding horses. “I love horses,” she says. “I think I may have been one of Henry VIII’s knights in another life, riding through a great forest.”

[From OK!]

Well that would explain her massive upper body strength and frigid, domineering nature. Okay I don’t know for a fact that knights were cold, but I really don’t imagine them as warm, “let’s go play with a puppy” type of guys. I could totally see Madonna being a knight in another lifetime. She very much strikes me as the kind of person who’d get a big kick out of impaling someone. Probably another reason Guy Ritchie should consider a separate bed.

Here’s Madonna leaving her gym in London on April 4th. Header of Madge and Guy Ritchie leaving Harry’s Bar in London on March 18th. Images thanks to WENN.

There are reports all over Manhattan that Beyonce and Jay-Z may be tying the knot today. A party of some sort is definitely happening at Jay-Z’s apartment – though it could be to celebrate his recent $150 million deal with Live Nation. Evidence includes a white tent that’s been set up on the roof of the building, flowers and candelabras that have been delivered (some left out on the curb, letting People magazine get quite the snapshot), and AV equipment delivery. Several of the couple’s friends are in the city, including Beyonce’s former Destiny’s Child band mates Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland, who for some stupid reason mention in a YouTube video that they’re staying at the Four Seasons in Manhattan right now. Other famous friends in NYC are Jermaine Dupri, Kanye West , Diddy, and Pharrell Williams. But to be fair, it’s New York City, no podunk nowhere. It’s not exactly weird that a lot of celebrities are here this weekend.

Jay-Z is breaking out the bubbly at his place Friday night for a big celebration. The big question is whether it’s to mark his rumored wedding to Beyoncé Knowles, or his $150 million deal with Live Nation. “Jay has invited some close friends, including Diddy, to his apartment in New York,” a source told the Daily News. “He hasn’t said if it’s for his wedding.”

Several sources close to the families of Knowles, 26, and Jay-Z, 38, said they knew nothing about a ceremony. There have been several false marriage reports going back at least two years. That hasn’t stopped Beyoncé’s dad, Mathew Knowles, from stringing along at least one celebrity weekly with the offer of wedding pics for sale.

“Mathew first started talking about wedding photos on Monday,” a magazine insider told The News. “He said, ‘How much are you offering?’ There has been a back-and-forth since then, but he has not revealed the date. He is definitely talking about there being wedding pictures.”

[From the New York Daily News]

Well that’s classy. Always a good dad, and always a good manager, right? Supposedly the event will be attended by 30 guests. Which seems small for a wedding, but certainly happens – especially when you’re trying to keep things private. What does seem odd is that the guests were all told to wear ivory, according to VH1 and several other websites. I’m pretty sure that the number one etiquette rule for a wedding guest is not to wear white. In fact I think it’s one of the few rules people still pay attention to. And Beyonce doesn’t seem like the kind of girl to let anyone steal her thunder – certainly not on her wedding day. So although there’s a ton of evidence that Beyonce and Jay may be getting hitched today, that one little detail makes me think they might be pulling one over on us.

Here’s a photo of the tent erected atop of Jay-Z’s building today. Splash notes: “Amid rumors of a wedding between Jay Z and Beyonce Knowles, a tent has been erected on the roof abutting jay Z’s apartment. According to US reports, behind the tent is an all-white interior.” Thanks to Splash for the image.

Update: Us Weekly is reporting that a reverend and his wife were seen entering Jay-Z’s building. I don’t pretend to have any idea how Us Weekly knows the guy is a reverend.

Rumors of a troubled marriage have dogged Gwyneth Paltrow and husband Chris Martin pretty much since they walked out of the church together. Perhaps it’s her quiet, slightly frigid nature or the way they each generally refuse to talk about each other, but they’ve often been the subject of a lot of marital speculation. Which is funny because the speculation seems to vacillate between “They’re breaking up and they hate each other!” to “They’re having another baby!” over and over again. When Us Weekly cornered Paltrow’s mother Blythe Danner at a movie premiere on Tuesday (okay I have no evidence that they actually cornered her, but that’s the only reason I can think of for a mother randomly spouting off about the state of her daughter’s marriage) she denied that there was any trouble in Gwyneth and Chris’ happy marriage.

Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin are happily married, thank you very much. Paltrow’s mother, actress Blythe Danner, has slammed blog reports that the couple’s 4-year marriage is on the rocks. “Good god, it’s just so tragic that people have to make up stuff,” she told Usmagazine.com at the NYC screening of The Visitor on Tuesday. “I’ve never seen two happier parents — or people — so I don’t get it.”

Daughter Apple turns 4 in May; son Moses is about to be 2. (Click here to see how Paltrow and other stars bundled up their kids for winter.) “They’re pretty fabulous,” she said of her grandchildren. “Yesterday my little grandson says, ‘Don’t go! Don’t go!’ You just don’t get that kind of love from everybody.”

As for reports that Paltrow (who stars in May’s Iron Man) plans on quitting the business, Danner insisted, “She very much wants to go back to work. “She didn’t set out to be a movie star — she set out to be a wonderful actress,” she adds. “But motherhood is very important to her, as it was to me, and I think she’s finding balance.”

[From Us Weekly]

Awww, that’s kinda sweet. Not sure if I believe it, but it’s nice that Blythe Danner at least tries to cover up for her daughter’s frigidness. That’s probably not fair to say, but ever since Ted Casablanca at E! started calling Paltrow Fish Stick years and years ago, it’s really hard to see her any other way. The moniker is so funny and fits so well… and when I think about those fish sticks I used to eat as a kid, I’m pretty sure they would look like Gwyneth Paltrow should they ever come alive and take human form. There’s definitely no denying that Gwyneth is a devoted mom – she clearly lights up whenever she’s around her kids. As much as we like to speculate that there’s trouble, it’s almost as nice to hear that things are chugging along just fine.

Here are some older pics of Gwyneth with Moses. I’ll say this for the rumors - it’s damn near impossible to find many pictures of Gwyneth and Chris together.

Jamie Lynn Spears is pregnant and officially engaged, all at the tender young age of 17 (as of this Friday). The actress was spotted wearing an engagement ring a little over a week ago, and since then fiancé Casey Aldridge’s cousin (and a few of Jaime Lynn’s friends) have confirmed the impending nuptials. OK! claims to have several exclusives on Jaime Lynn’s wedding plans – though of course we have to wait until it’s on newsstands for all of the specifics.

OK says Jamie Lynn will wait until after the baby is born to marry Casey. Her friends speculate that she’ll want to set the date several months after the birth so that she can get her figure back in order to wear her perfect wedding dress. There’s also a bit of talk about her dream wedding – though something tells me that in Jamie Lynn’s dreams, her wedding was never supposed to happen quite so soon – and probably not with her new baby at the ceremony.

The Zoey 101 star is expecting her first baby in late June with boyfriend Casey Aldridge, and is happily riding out the last months of her pregnancy with Casey by her side. After announcing her pregnancy exclusively to OK! in December, Britney Spears’ little sis has been busy lying low in her hometown of Kentwood, La. As OK! was the first to report, Jamie Lynn and a cousin recently registered for her baby shower at a Babies ‘R’ Us store in the nearby city of Baton Rouge.

And those closest to Jamie Lynn tell OK! the teen plans to stay true to her small-town roots, most likely exchanging vows with Casey in Kentwood at “Serenity,” the estate owned by Britney — who obviously leads the list of possible bridesmaids. “She’ll have the baby there, and soon after, she will also get married there,” says a pal of the teen. “I expect she’ll want to wait at least several months to get her figure back so she can wear a beautiful wedding gown and then have her dream wedding.”

[From OK!]

You can’t help but worry for anyone who gets married at 17. And to be fair, you can’t help but worry for anyone who has a baby at 17. Putting the two together seems like a lot of pressure on such a young couple. They’re certainly better off financially than any other 17-year-old couple I’ve ever heard of, but money doesn’t equal maturity. Hopefully Jamie Lynn’s got a better head on her shoulders than some of her family members… or will at least hire a very, very qualified nanny.

Here’s Jamie Lynn showing off her engagement ring while running errands near her Louisiana home on April 1st. Images thanks to Splash.

Rumors are swirling once again that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have gotten secretly married. As time goes on and their family increases exponentially, it’s hard to tell if that increases or decreases the likelihood that they’ll tie the knot. On the one hand, you’d think that having so many kids might make them yearn to cement things in a more traditional way. On the other hand, with each passing kid and each passing year that they DON’T do it, you could argue that they become firmer in their resolve to abstain from marriage. A slew of print and internet media sources are reporting that the two secretly wed in New Orleans on Saturday, despite Brad’s very public proclamation some years ago that he and Angie wouldn’t get married legally until everyone could get married legally.

Hollywood’s most powerful couple has made it official - Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are married.

According to Star magazine’s website, the pair wed on Saturday in New Orleans. The couple have been together since 2005, when they co-starred in the actioner, “Mr. and Mrs. Smith.” Angelina is pregnant with twins, and the two have four other children.

This would be Brad’s second time down the aisle, with his first to “Friends” star Jennifer Aniston ending in divorce. Angelina has been married twice previously, most recently to actor Billy Bob Thornton, and “Eli Stone” star Jonny Lee Miller in the late 1990s.

[From NY Daily News]

The Daily News felt confident enough in their story to boldly headline it “Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt are married.” The story was also picked up by OK!, X17, and PR Insider. If the pair have indeed married, it makes sense that they’d keep it under wraps. Angelina is said to be having a tough pregnancy this time around. She’s widely speculated to be carrying twins, which can’t be easy on her rather emaciated frame. Several media outlets are also reporting that she’s suffering from gestational diabetes, which affects about 2% of women during their pregnancies. Considering the pair’s earlier statements about marriage, coupled with Angelina’s health, it’s no surprise that they’d keep any wedding a secret as long as possible. If they did marry, congrats to them. And if not, at least we can keep on speculating.

Update by Celebitchy: People Magazine is reporting that it’s not true and that “a source close to the couple tells PEOPLE there was ‘no wedding’” and seems to say that they weren’t even in New Orleans this weekend when this was said to have taken place.

“Michael Clayton” and “Chronicles of Narnia” star Tilda Swinton has been enjoying an open relationship with the father of her children, playwright John Byrne, for quite a while. Tilda, 47, is living with Byrne, 67, with whom she has 10 year-old twins. But while she was filming “Narnia,” Tilda met 29-year-old Sandro Kopp, an actor and artist. She was very attracted to him, and with the blessing of the father of her children, Swinton now divides her time between the two men. Tilda takes her younger man with her to movie shoots, premieres and awards ceremonies, and even brings him to the home she shares with Byrne and the children. Apparently, Tilda’s live-in man isn’t so pleased with all the attention their arrangement has been getting.

If you didn’t have a Valentine Thursday, then perhaps you can blame Tilda Swinton: The greedy swine has two.

The Academy Award nominee is expected to attend the ceremony next weekend with her new guy, German artist Sandro Kopp, 29. Swinton, 47, played the White Queen and he a centaur-extra in 2005’s “The Chronicles of Narnia.”

But the ethereal British actress is also still with John Byrne, 67, the father of her 10-year-old twins, Honor and Xavier.

Swinton attended Sunday’s BAFTA awards - the British Oscars - with Kopp and her kids. Then they all went back to the large house she shares with Byrne in Scotland, where he greeted them at the door.

Questioned by a reporter about who gets the bedroom in that arrangement, Byrne growled, “I wouldn’t encourage you to ask anything like that.”

[From the NY Daily News’ Gategrasher]

Byrne has also been quoted as saying that he and Swinton are “the best of chums” and that, “We love our children and our children love us. The rest is business.”

Open relationships fascinate me. On paper, they sometimes seem like they could really work for everyone, but I’ve rarely seen it happen in real life. Somebody always ends up getting hurt– after all, these are human beings we’re talking about. It doesn’t sound like Tilda’s live-in man is all that enthusiastic about the arrangement, but doesn’t want to lose his partner or break up the family. And Tilda? Well, she’s got the solid, older man at home taking care of their sons, and the yummy younger man to travel the world with. Sounds like a plan to me. But who knows how long it will all last?

Picture Note by Celebitchy: Tilda Swinton is shown at the Bafta Awards on 2/10/08, thanks to PRPhotos. People say how great it is that she’s an original and everything, but would it kill her to wear some makeup?