Brad Pitt wedding guests forced to sign 'no photographs' contracts

Why is the wedding of Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston unlike any other? Answer: because this is Hollywood, a place where the actual knot-tying is near-insignificant, while the logistical details that in any other context would be trivial or ridiculous take on primary importance.

Why is the wedding of Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston unlike any other? Answer: because this is Hollywood, a place where the actual knot-tying is near-insignificant, while the logistical details that in any other context would be trivial or ridiculous take on primary importance.

The 200-odd people who showed up to the Malibu clifftop estate of television producer Marcy Carsey on Saturday afternoon for the blonde on blonde event of the year had to sign a strict confidentiality agreement before they could receive so much as an invitation.

The guests then had to present security passes at a series of checkpoints and promise not to take any pictures for commercial gain - a precaution aimed not at keeping paparazzi away so much as preserving the stratospheric value of the official photographs.

The photo contract was in fact the subject of a furious bidding war, eventually won by Paris Match for an undisclosed sum. A single, black and white official photo was the only thing released to the broader public this weekend.

Every detail leaked from the ceremony was bound up with publicity, from the labels on the couple's clothing (congratulations to Lawrence Steele and Manolo Blahnik for clinching the Aniston gown-and-shoes contract) to the status implications of the choice of guests (A-list only, puh-leese).

The whole thing felt controlled by the dead hand of publicists and entertainment lawyers. One persistent rumour suggested Pitt and Aniston had been married on the quiet several days earlier, and that Saturday's event was just a career-boosting photo op for all concerned. You can be sure the event will boost Pitt's asking price for his next movie, and that the ratings for Friends will enjoy a welcome late-season boost.

In a town where marriages are notoriously short-lived, what's the point of getting hitched at all if people can't make some money out of it?