Summer weddings for Angelina Jolie, Drew Barrymore, Britney Spears? - Chicago Sun-Times

BY OLIVIA BARKER May 3, 2012 8:39PM

50 percent chance of wedding this summer: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie | JOE KLAMAR~AFP/Getty Images

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Updated: May 3, 2012 9:00PM

Stars on summer vacation? Try summer honeymoon.

There’s the potential for a slew of celebrities to say “I do” starting next month. Though little is confirmed beyond several engagements â€" including Drew Barrymore’s, Halle Berry’s, Anne Hathaway’s, Kate Hudson’s and the most anticipated of all, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s â€" “it is shaping up to be the summer of the celebrity wedding,” says Jaimee Zanziger, executive editor of Us Weekly.

She figures there’s a 99 percent chance of a summer stroll down the aisle for Barrymore and Will Kopelman, followed by Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake (98 percent), Britney Spears and Jason Trawick (70 percent) and Jolie and Pitt (50 percent).

For the entertainment media that nip after these nuptials â€" and the readers who salivate over every diamond and dress detail â€" “it’s almost going to be embarrassment of riches,” Zanziger says, a probable surplus of satin and centerpieces compared with, say, 2010’s solo standout summer event, Chelsea Clinton’s wedding.

“Interest is always heightened when people feel like they can participate, when they can see some photos, get some information” on, for instance, what guests dined on and danced to, says Bonnie Fuller, editor in chief of HollywoodLife.com, where positive celebrity news such as weddings and births traffics more than meltdowns. “That builds the excitement.”

So the idea that Jolie and Pitt could sell pictures of their bash and donate the proceeds to charity, as they did with the births of their children, ratchets up expectations that much more.

The wide range of ages and marital stages â€" from first-timers such as Biel, 30, to confirmed third-timers such as Berry, 45, and Spears, 30 â€" also broadens the buzz. Likewise, the gamut of party styles, from “a big blowout” (Zanziger’s prediction for the Barrymore affair) to something “small and classy” (for Spears’ soiree).

And then there’s the appeal of many of those possibly tying the knot. “These are some of our readers’ favorite celebrities,” says Zanziger. “They’re clamoring for info: What dress is Drew looking at? What locations are Jessica and Justin looking at?”

Still, little compares to the frenzy surrounding the Jolie-Pitt fete. Whenever the final location is officially revealed (or secretly leaked), “it will be all hands on deck,” Zanziger says. “That will be a monumental occasion in Us Weekly history.”

Gannett News Service