Anatomy of the Brangelina Christmas Wedding Rumor

I heard Larry King ask Angelina Jolie if she and Brad Pitt are getting hitched in a Christmas ceremony in South Africa. She denied it, and seemed slightly annoyed and amused all at the same time (she does that thing so well).

There is indeed a rumor floating around about this, and I have to admit, I helped start it.

Quite innocently, but I helped start it just the same.

Because I am an interfaith minister and a specialist in multifaith and multicultural weddings, OK! Magazine asks me sometimes to offer commentary on celebrity marriages involving different cultures. A couple of weeks ago they asked me to comment on what a wedding in South Africa might be like.

As I was wrapping up my research, it was revealed to me that they heard that Brad and Angie were planning a wedding there. I thought, okay, I've already commented on their potential Hindu wedding, so what the heck. I'm just offering the spiritual and cultural perspective.

The December 18 issue comes out in early December, carrying the story, "Brangelina's Africa Wedding" with a little, tiny sidebar, "South African Nuptials" quoting me on customs.

The main story said Oprah would be a special guest. That was the first I had heard of that.

Cut two, that weekend, google news is teaming with articles on Brad and Angelina's South African wedding. Seems one of the British tabloids picked up the OK! story and bam... it was all over the world. Now, a rumor becomes a possibility. And it continues on.

Even Larry King asked about it.

Now I am going to add to it by posting this piece on how the rumor started, and later, by sharing what I know about South African weddings.