When Tony Romo went to lunch at a paparazzi hot spot with Jessica Simpson on the Friday before her sister’s wedding, I assumed he was trying to help her save face after the news broke that he dumped her. Then when Romo went to Jessica’s sister Ashlee’s wedding as Jessica’s date, again it seemed like he felt sorry for Jessica and wanted to soften the blow of the breakup. Maybe they have an on-off thing, but the insider reports of their breakup were reported in the Chicago Sun Times and seemed true.

So why would Tony make a public reconciliation with Jessica Simpson before her sister’s wedding other than feeling sorry for her? Maybe because if he stayed away from the wedding, it would have cost Jessica’s family $1.4 million. TMZ reports that People Magazine’s contract with Joe Simpson for exclusive rights to Ashlee Simpson’s wedding photos included the stipulation that Tony Romo had to be at the wedding with Ashlee’s older sister Jessica:

Our moles tell us, when People cut a $1.4 deal for Ashlee’s wedding pics, there was a g-string attached — that Jessica Simpson and Tony Romo would be there.

It’s kinda what we were thinking. Who’d pay that for Ashlee Simpson alone. That’s why People wanted to put a pic of Jessica and Tony as an inset on the cover — they sell, Ashlee doesn’t.

Of course, the problem. Jessica and Tony split before the wedding. So you getting the picture why Tony showed? $$$$

[From TMZ]

Maybe that explains why People claimed ahead of the wedding to have a “source” that Tony Romo would attend. There must have been a lot of pressure on that guy to show up, and he swallowed his pride and did a nice thing for Jessica’s family. I guess that explains why he didn’t go on vacation with Jessica and her family afterwards.

But isn’t it a little sad for Ashlee, that - as commenter Elisha points out - she had “to have her wedding cover of People ruined with a huge picture of her sister freak dancing on it”?

Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz are shown out in NY after the Caribbean honeymoon on 5/23/08, thanks to WENN.

Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz were due to have their shotgun wedding last weekend when Ashlee decided she didn’t want her dad, a former Baptist minister, officiating. She got it in mind that she was going to have a Buddhist minister instead, despite never having previously expressed an interest in Buddhism that I could find. The argument between Ashlee and her dad got so heated that she said she would cancel the wedding if he wouldn’t let her have a Buddhist priest preside. Ashlee’s fiancé Pete Wentz stepped in and was able to save the wedding by convincing Ashlee to give in to her dad:

“In the 11th hour, Ashlee clashed with her father over the ceremony, and when he would not cave, she actually decided to cancel,” said a family friend.

The dispute… was because Ashlee… decided at the last minute to have a Buddhist priest perform the ceremony instead of her father.

“Joe completely lost it!” the source said.

“They were down to the wire. Every last detail was in place and he could not believe his daughter came up with this last-second Buddhist idea after everything was set.”

Joe Simpson, a former Baptist minister, “dug in his heels,” according to the source, and told Ashlee there was no way he’d host a Buddhist wedding.

In the end, it was… Pete who saved the day.

“He ran after Ashlee, sat her down and told her there was too much at stake now to cancel the ceremony,” said the source.

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, June 2, 2008]

Maybe Joe was pissed because the wedding was all planned out already, but if Ashlee had an available Buddhist minister in mind, and it’s not clear from this article that she did, it seems like a simple change to have a different person officiate. It’s her wedding and she should be the one to decide who is marrying her. Instead Joe Simpson almost let her cancel the whole thing because he was too stubborn to step down and concede his daughter’s wishes! That’s ridiculous. You can understand him being hurt, but it’s his daughter’s special day and he should care enough about her to step down. Instead Joe showed that his ego is more important than his daughter’s feelings.

The National Enquirer has details of Ashlee’s wedding that we’ve partially already heard. She had an “Alice in Wonderland” theme “decorated with a top hat, teapot and pocket watch with a pot of flowers on top…. Tables were laden with black beauty roses… and tents were decked out with black chandeliers, black rugs and white couches with red pillows.” Guests dined on a dinner of “crab cakes, shrimp tacos, sushi, roast organic chicken, Kobe beef and baked Alaska.”

Just Jared has pictures of Ashlee and Pete’s wedding invitation, complete with Alice in Wonderland “eat me” cookie, and their chocolate table settings with guests names.

Ashlee and Pete are shown at LaGuardia airport in New York last night after returning from their honeymoon. They’re in the same pose as on their People cover. Thanks to Splash News.

People Magazine has posted the cover of their upcoming issue with the super expensive photos of Pete Wentz and Ashlee Simpson’s “Fantasy Wedding!” and it’s not the interesting. Ashlee and Pete have their fringed-banged heads together and are smiling like any pose you would see of the two of them on the red carpet. Ashlee wears a simple white veil and pearl drop earrings and Pete has on a tux with a white bow tie and a black rose corsage.

The best part of the photo isn’t newlyweds Ashlee and Pete, but the embarrassed-looking bulldog wearing a flouncy neck piece adorned with black beads. Jessica Simpson and her maybe ex-boyfriend, Tony Romo, are shown in an inset photo dancing at the reception, with Jessica pulling a wide-mouthed face while Tony laughs.

People reports that the reception was “the ultimate rocker event” and included 10,000 “black magic” roses, chandeliers and red and black decorations.

Ashlee wore “an ivory lace Monique Lhuillier gown and a cathedral-length veil” and People notes that the “nondenominational ceremony [was] officiated by her father, Joe Simpson.”

The event was attended by 150 guests, but you get to see it in People for the price of the magazine. It’s doubtful this issue will sell well enough to justify the reported $1 million that the photos were said to have cost. There’s not a lot of interest in these two, but we’re sure to see more of them as Ashlee’s pregnancy starts to show and they sell the inevitable first baby photos for an even steeper price.

Thanks to People for the header image.

That Jessica Alba is a sneaky one. I’m not sure how she did it, but the very pregnant actress, 27, managed to get married to fiancé Cash Warren, 31, on the sly yesterday. Actually it’s pretty clear how she did it – wait for Ashlee Simpson to make a bigger deal of her secret nuptials, and then sneak off to a courthouse and get married in the basement. Okay in New York it’s a basement. In Los Angeles it’s probably all classy and up on the first floor. Though they were married “under an arch of green silk foliage and white flowers.” Sounds pretty, until you remember that silk flowers are just those fake crappy things they sell at Walmart. But who cares about foliage when you’re in love?

Mom-to-be Jessica Alba and Cash Warren have gotten married, PEOPLE confirms. The couple quietly wed Monday, says her rep, Brad Cafarelli.

According to a source, they were married in the Beverly Hills courthouse’s ceremony room under an arch of green silk foliage and white flowers. They were casually dressed, with Alba wearing a long blue dress and her hair back in a ponytail.

“She looked happy but nervous,” the source says.

Warren, in a white shirt and brown pants, arrived with Alba at about 11:30 a.m. on Monday, applied for a marriage license and waited about 40 minutes for the paperwork to be processed before a staff member from the courthouse married them, the source says.

Nobody else attended the wedding, the source adds.

[From People]

I have decided that when I get married, I am going to do it in secret. This seems to get a lot more publicity, and the pictures are worth more money. I’m going to start planning my secret wedding now, because I’m under the impression that it takes a lot of work to thwart the paparazzi. Or you can just wait until a Monday when everyone’s all tired and hung-over from the weekend, waltz down to the courthouse, and get the job done pretty quickly.

I’m kind of surprised this is how they went about it, but whatever works for you. Alba has recently noted that she’s been pretty relaxed since getting pregnant, and most everything else doesn’t really stress her out right now. She probably just wanted to get it over with and stop having people ask her about it. Jessica and Cash’s baby girl is due this summer. Congrats to the happy couple.

Header of Cash and Jessica at the Oscars in February. Images thanks to WENN.

Deep down in my little heart, I truly, deeply believe that the most romantic thing a couple can do is talk about the legal specifics of their love. What says “I am passionately, over-the-moon in love with my new spouse” more than calling Ryan Seacrest three days after you got married to tell him about your pre-nup? You’re sitting there silently because the answer to that question is obvious: nothing. Nothing says love more than chatting amicably with Seacrest’s hair spikes about your big day.

And as a wedding gift to his new wife, that’s exactly what Pete Wentz did this morning. Actually, he snuck out of his bedroom while Ashlee was still asleep. But that’s just a technicality.

“We have signed a pre-nup,” the newlywed rocker admitted on Ryan Seacrest’s KIIS-FM radio show Tuesday. (Ashlee was alseep, he said.) He said “she legally is a Wentz … I don’t know what she’ll do with her stage name, that’s up to her. She hasn’t decided that.”

He said they’re skipping out on a honeymoon (for now) and have been hanging out in their basement in L.A. “We got some blow-up palm trees,” Wentz said. “A little fake-n-bake tanning booth. We’re eating DiGiorno’s pizza, getting in that tanning oven every once in a while, it’s great. It’s gonna look like we’re on that private jet,” he added. “We’re gonna save that 30 grand, you know?” I feel great!” he said. “It is sunny and 65 in my head.”

Wentz still refused to confirm Simpson’s pregnancy. When Seacrest asked why they decided to wed now, Wentz replied, “I get the backdoor question you’re asking me, but it’s been something we’ve been planning for a long time. I gave her a promise ring four months ago.” Seacrest later asked if he’s thought about baby names. Wentz laughed. “Ryan, this baby has not been confirmed,” he said. “The only thing I’m confirming now is that we’re in the basement on our honeymoon with these blow-up palm trees.”

[From Us Magazine]

Um…

Um…….. alright. Where to start. [JayBird inhales deeply]. I didn’t HEAR the interview, so it’s hard for me to tell if/to what extent Pete Wentz is teasing. On the one hand, my instinct is to think Ryan Seacrest must have asked him what they were doing instead of a honeymoon, and Pete was just joking. On the other hand, it’s Pete Wentz and Ashlee Simpson, and having a bunch of blow-up palm trees and a microwave pizza for a basement honeymoon doesn’t seem that out of character.

I will point out that Pete said this” baby has not been confirmed. Not “a” baby has not been confirmed. To me, the phrasing he used is a little more personal, and implies that a baby does indeed exist. But frankly my brain is so boggled from trying to figure out if there’s a blow-up kiddie pool in the Simpson/Wentz basement that I’m not sure I’m able to dissect the inner-workings of Pete Wentz’s brain. And I’m pretty much okay with that.

Here’s Pete Wentz trying to eat Ashlee Simpson’s face at the Cloverfield premiere on January 1st. Images thanks to WENN.

Ellen Degeneres isn’t the only celebrity Californian to announce she’ll marry her partner after the state became the second in the union to legalize same sex marriage. George Takei, best known for his role on Star Trek as Sulu, has announced on his website that he will marry his partner of 21 years, Brad Altman:

The California Supreme Court has ruled that all Californians have a fundamental right to marry the person he or she loves. Brad and I have shared our lives together for over 21 years. We’ve worked in partnership; he manages the business side of my career and I do the performing. We’ve traveled the world together from Europe to Asia to Australia. We’ve shared the good times as well as struggled through the bad. He helped me care for my ailing mother who lived with us for the last years of her life. He is my love and I can’t imagine life without him. Now, we can have the dignity, as well as all the responsibilities, of marriage. We embrace it all heartily.

The California Supreme Court further ruled that our Constitution provides for equal protection for all and that it cannot have marriage for one group and another form - domestic partnership - for another group. No more “separate but equal.” No more second-class citizenship. Brad and I are going to be married as full citizens of our state.

[From GeorgeTakei.com]

It’s about time that same sex couples had the right to marry. Can you imagine not being able to see your long term partner in the hospital, or being told that you had no right to inherit after the person you spent most of your life with passed away? That’s what many same sex couples face, and it must be a scary situation that a lot of people have to plan for when they don’t have the right to marry. Now there are two states where same sex couples are recognized and have the same legal rights.

Congratulations to George and Brad for being able to make it official! 21 years is a long time to wait.

George Takei is 71, but he looks like he’s in his early 50s to me. Takei has several cameos in upcoming comedies and he keeps busy with speaking and convention appearances. He recently appeared on Heroes as the character Hiro’s father. He’s also an incredibly good sport, and has gone on the Howard Stern show multiple times and laughed through all the jokes at his expense. Takei was a guest announcer on Howard Stern for a week this March, and credits Stern for helping revive his career.

Thanks to Trekmovie.com for the header image and details for this story. Other details from Wikipedia.

It’s been rumored for weeks that Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon might have a second wedding ceremony, and apparently the preparations really are being made. Never accuse Mariah Carey of under-doing anything. Or being classy. The woman is many things, but understated is not one of them.

After she and Nick Cannon had a quickie wedding in the Bahamas, they rented out a Six Flags theme park for 100 of their closest friends to celebrate. But apparently that wasn’t enough for the locals – the two are working hard on what sounds like a really upscale wedding ceremony to be held in New York City.

Plans for Mariah Carey’s second wedding to husband Nick Cannon are well underway, and this time around, Carey plans to make her nuptials an over-the-top event, according to a source close to the singer. “It’s going to be held in New York City in the next six weeks. Picture a wedding on the scale of Liza Minnelli’s (to David Gest) and you’ll be on the right track,” said the source.

Carey last week told Ellen DeGeneres that the wedding would be next year, and the guests at her Bahamian ceremony were “mainly people there to do my hair and help me with the dress,” which certainly won’t be the case for part deux.

“She wants over 2,000 guests and the budget will be well over $4 million and she’ll have at least 14 bridesmaids,” the source revealed. One name already said to be confirmed on the guest list: Naomi Campbell. We can’t wait.

[From MSNBC’s The Scoop]

Let’s talk fundamentals here. If you compare anything to something related to Liza Minnelli or David Gest, it’s going to be incredibly tacky. If you compare it to something related to Liza Minnelli and David Gest it’s going to be beyond horrendous. I can’t wait to see this ceremony. It sounds like it’ll rival Star Jones’ wedding – and we all know just how well that turned out.

2000 guests just screams “We’re inviting Entertainment Tonight to our wedding!” I bet that amount of love you have for each other is in direct proportion to the amount of guests at your wedding. Because we all know the bigger and more lavish the affair, the greater and more enduring the romance, right?

Here’s Nick and Mariah at Operation Smile’s 5th Annual Event in NYC on Thursday. Images thanks to WENN.

Heidi Klum, 34, and Seal, 45, return to Costa Careyes, Mexico every year to renew their vows at the same resort where they married in 2005. On May 10th they held an Indian-themed renewal ceremony and party attended by 50 guests. Heidi wore a red wedding sari for the day, according to this week’s edition of In Touch.

Last year the romantic couple held their commitment ceremony on May 13. Heidi and Seal’s first wedding on Costa Careyes was attended by just Heidi, Seal and her daughter Leni. They have since expanded their family to include boys Henry, two years and eight months, and Johan, 18 months.

Heidi revealed about two weeks ago that Seal proposed to her in a custom-made igloo he had built and outfitted in the Canadian Rockies in December, 2004. He arranged for both of them to be flown by helicopter up to the secluded igloo, which featured a bed, candles, and rose petals strewn around.

Can you imagine getting married every year? It seems like it might dilute the experience a little if you’re renewing your vows every year instead of every few years or at specific milestones in the relationship. At least it’s something incredible to look forward to. These two set the romantic bar incredibly high. If you had all that money at your disposal would you get married to your spouse every year? I think I might just go on vacation with my husband as much as possible. The honeymoon is the best part.

Photos are of Heidi and Seal at the Academy Awards on 2/24/08, thanks to WENN.

Well it finally happened. For reasons that remain unclear to most of us, Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz got married yesterday. Granted they seem like a cute enough couple when you look at them together. But when you think about each of them separately, you kind of think… why? At least I have, ever since Celebitchy pointed out how “special” Pete looks in this photo. Whenever I think of them working on wedding details or doing anything grownup and/or normal, I imagine that expression on Pete’s face and get the willies. But apparently that hasn’t occurred to Ashley, and/or she gets off on it. Because she just committed herself to spending the rest of her life with Pete.

Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz were married Saturday evening in an intimate ceremony, their spokesperson tells PEOPLE exclusively. “We’re delighted to confirm that Pete Wentz and Ashlee Simpson were married this evening in front of family and close friends,” said the spokesperson.

Simpson, 23, wore an ivory lace wedding gown by Monique Lhuillier accessorized with a diamond necklace and earrings by Neil Lane as she and Wentz, 28, exchanged vows in front of 150 guests at her parents’ Los Angeles area home.

Dad Joe Simpson performed the non-denominational ceremony, while sister Jessica served as maid of honor. Wentz’s English bulldog, Hemingway, was the ring-bearer. Guests included Jessica’s boyfriend, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, Nicole Richie and Joel Madden, as well as actor Donald Faison with girlfriend CaCee Cobb.

[From People]

Ashlee’s wedding theme was Alice in Wonderland. Nope, I’m not being sarcastic. It actually sounds pretty cool, if you’re into kooky wedding themes. If nothing else, it sounds like it certainly stands out against all the other weddings out there.

With the help of wedding planner Mindy Weiss, Simpson got her dream nuptials: The Alice in Wonderland themed reception featured a wedding cake by Sam Godfrey of Perfect Endings with a top hat, tea pot, stop watch and a pot of flowers on top. The elaborate centerpieces of black beauty roses were by Mark’s Garden. Guests were served Rose Veuve Clicquot champagne followed by a sit-down dinner and dancing to a DJ.

[From People]

People also states that Ashlee is pregnant as though it’s been confirmed. They don’t say “rumored” or anything like that, just “Simpson, who is pregnant with the couple’s first child,” and then gives some biographical information on the couple. Which makes you wonder, because People is generally very accurate, and doesn’t print speculation.

Tony Romo did attend the wedding. He and Jessica were spotted having lunch together at Katsuya on Friday, causing speculation that there were either back together or had never broken up. However several of Tony’s friends insist that he did dump Jessica. And depending on which magazine you read, Simpson’s reps are either refusing to comment or denying that there was ever a split. Supposedly Joe Simpson had begged Tony to attend the wedding. Who the hell knows why he was really there.

Anyway, congrats to the happy couple. I hope Pete makes this expression every night in bed for the rest of your life Ashlee.

Here are some aerial shots of preparation for Ashlee and Pete’s wedding at Ashlee’s parent’s home. Images thanks to Splash.

Prince Harry and William’s cousin, Peter Phillips, 30, married his Canadian fiancée Autumn Kelly at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle Satuday. Phillips is the only son of Princess Anne, who is the daughter of England’s ruling queen, Queen Elizabeth II, and the sister of Prince Charles. Kelly, 30, converted from Catholicism to the Church of England in order to marry into the royal family. Phillips is 11th in line to the throne.

Prince William was not in attendance as he was at another wedding in Kenya for Batian Craig, the brother of his ex-girlfriend Jecca Craig. William’s girlfriend, Kate Middleton, attended the Philips wedding in his stead.

Prince Harry was at his cousin’s wedding with his girlfriend Chelsy Davy. (He is shown talking to his cousin, Zara Phillips, a bridesmaid.) Also at the ceremony were the Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles and Camilla. There were 300 guests at the service including 70 friends and family of the bride who came from Canada.

The six bridesmaids wore Vera Wang gowns and the bride wore a dress by London designer Sassi Holford and a tiara from her mother-in-law.

The story of Phillip’s courtship of Autumn Kelly is romantic. She didn’t know he was a royal until she saw him on television:

The newlywed couple first met in 2003 at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, where Mr Phillips was working for Formula One racing team BMW Williams and Miss Kelly was employed in the main BMW hospitality suite.

When Mr Phillips kept his Royal connections quiet as the fledgling relationship continued to blossom, until Miss Kelly spotted him on a TV programme on the lead up to his cousin Prince William’s 21st birthday later in 2003, and the truth was revealed.

The couple have spent the last two years splitting their time between a west London flat and Aston Farm, a cottage on the Gloucestershire estate of Peter’s father, Captain Mark Phillips.

Mr Phillips, who graduated from the University of Exeter with a degree in Sports Science, now looks after the Royal Bank of Scotland’s motor racing sponsorship.

His new wife, a graduate of Canada’s McGill University where she studied East Asian Studies, is now personal assistant to veteran broadcaster Sir Michael Parkinson.

[From Timeonline.co.uk]

Congratulations to the new couple. They look so happy and their wedding was beautiful. May they have a lifetime of happiness together.

It’s incredible how much Peter looks like his cousins Harry and William. Thanks to WENN for these photos.