Britney arranges annulment hours after wedding

Los Angeles - Pop star Britney Spears made arrangements to annul her Las Vegas marriage to childhood friend Jason Allen Alexander just hours after the two were wed in a chapel there on Saturday, friends and relatives said on Sunday.

George Maloof Jr., owner of the Palms Casino and Hotel, where Spears was staying over the New Year's Eve holiday and weekend, confirmed Spears and Alexander, both 22, were wed around 5 a.m. PST (8 a.m. EST/1300 GMT) on Saturday at a Las Vegas wedding chapel. He declined further comment.

However, a friend of Spears who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Reuters that by late Saturday afternoon, all the annulment papers had been signed by both Spears and Alexander in the presence of an attorney, a notary public, Spears' brother Brian, her manager Larry Rudolph and Maloof.

The annulment papers were expected to be filed when the courts open on Monday morning, the friend said.

Alexander's grandmother, Betty Alexander, also confirmed the marriage and annulment. "Yes, they got married and they are in the process of getting it annulled," she told Reuters by phone from Alexander's hometown of Kentwood, Louisiana.

There were apparently no hard feelings. Shortly after the annulment papers were signed, the couple on Saturday night had dinner at the N9NE Steakhouse at the Palms Casino and Hotel.

On Saturday morning, Spears was escorted down the aisle at the Little White Wedding Chapel in the city known for quickie marriages -- and divorces -- by a Palms Casino Hotel bellman, who doubled as the couple's limousine driver for their impromptu nuptials, Spears' friend said.

The only people who witnessed the wedding were the chapel's minister, a photographer and the bellman. The wedding ceremony was videotaped, but no video has so far been released.

The bride wore a baseball cap, jeans and a T-shirt for her first marriage. The groom was dressed casually for what was his first marriage as well.

After spending Friday night at a movie in the Palms' theater and in their hotel suite, Spears and Alexander showed up in the hotel's Ghostbar to ask for a driver.

After stopping at two other chapels that were closed, the couple found their way to the Little White Wedding Chapel. They were told they needed a marriage license, so at about 4 a.m. PST (7 a.m. EST/1200 GMT) they drove to the courthouse, Spears' friend said.

A marriage license was indeed filed in Clark County, Nevada, on Jan. 3, for Alexander and Spears. Signed by both, the document says they are both residents of Kentwood, Louisiana, and have never been married before.

The pop princess, a one-time children's television performer turned teen-aged sex symbol who most recently has posed scantily clad on magazine covers and kissed Madonna on national television while promoting her latest album.

Spears' close friend said the pop diva was publicly seen kissing both Alexander and one of her female dancers while dancing to her new song "Toxic" at the hotel's Rain nightclub on Thursday night. "It made her kiss with Madonna look mild," the friend said.

The pop diva's most high-profile romance previously was with fellow pop idol Justin Timberlake, now enjoying a successful solo career after years with the boy band 'N Sync.

Spears shot to superstardom as a teen-ager with her debut album "...Baby One More Time." She released her latest, "In the Zone," in November, storming to No. 1 on the music charts with the aid of a publicity blitz. It was the singer's fourth consecutive No. 1 debut. --Associated Press

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