For a few minutes, at least, ‘I do’

Pop tart Britney Spears is single again after a wild weekend that could only have happened in Vegas, where she wed her childhood pal in a madcap ceremony perfectly scripted for Hollywood lore.

Although the marriage to Jason Allen Alexander was annulled Monday just 36 hours after the couple said “I do” (a statement issued by her record label, Jive Records, claimed the whole thing was a joke that went too far), it’s a relief to see the tradition of the quickie celebrity wedding is still intact.

Spears, reportedly wearing torn jeans and a baseball cap, and Alexander, both 22, were married at about 5 a.m. Saturday at the Little White Wedding Chapel, an establishment that boasts a “tribute to Elvis” package and a drive-through service. It’s where Demi Moore and Bruce Willis, and Michael Jordan and Juanita Vanoy also got hitched.

When impetuous celebs are looking to elope, Sin City -- the nexus of a million lifetimes of bad decisions -- is all too happy to oblige. The Clark County Marriage License Bureau distributes more than 120,000 licenses annually at $55 each.

There is no blood test required, no waiting period, and the license bureau is open 24 hours on weekends and holidays, and till midnight on weekdays. For ceremonies, there are roughly 350 places to choose from, ranging from a replica of the Sistine Chapel to Victorian garden chapels.

Historically, “the marriage and divorce rackets in Las Vegas were a function of the fact that the state had no other source of revenue,” according to Hal Rothman, chairman of the history department at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Vegas remains a popular destination for famous couples looking to tie the knot in a hurry because “celebrities are not subject to the same kind of pressure as they are in other cities. They can go to clubs. People are used to them,” Rothman said. “No wonder they get married here.”

Perhaps Spears and Alexander have seen one too many episodes of “Friends.” (Remember when Ross and Rachel woke up after a sloshy night on the Strip in Vegas to find that they had gotten married the night before?)

Nevertheless, their day-and-a-half marriage now takes its place in a long line of short-lived celebrity unions.

A night of boozing and gambling put basketball bad boy Dennis Rodman and “Baywatch” babe Carmen Electra in the mood for matrimony in 1998, when they tied the knot at the Little Chapel of the Flowers. Just nine days later, the Worm was trying to wiggle his way out of it by seeking an annulment. (Instead, they had to remain Mr. and Mrs. another five months, when they divorced.)

But theirs was a matrimonial marathon compared to Zsa Zsa Gabor’s 24-hour marriage in 1982 to her seventh husband, Felipe de Alba, a Mexican lawyer.

Mike Tyson’s ex-wife Robin Givens ended her marriage to Yugoslav tennis star Svetozar Marinkovic in 1997 after one day, though the groom told the media at the time that it was really more like seven hours.

After Dennis Hopper exchanged vows with Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas fame in 1970, in Taos, N.M., they enjoyed wedded bliss for all of eight days.

In 1994, at age 19, Drew Barrymore proposed to bar owner Jeremy Thomas in an alley and married him three weeks later in Hollywood. The marriage lasted just six weeks. Her second attempt, with comedian Tom Green in Malibu, lasted a whopping five months.

In 1993, with two broken engagements in two years, Shannen Doherty, then 22, wed George Hamilton’s son, Ashley, 18, at her Santa Monica house in a BYOB ceremony. She wore a silk nightgown and walked down a backyard aisle. For their honeymoon, the couple flew to New York, where the “Beverly Hills, 90210” bad girl hosted “Saturday Night Live.” Five months later, she handed Hamilton his walking papers.

A subsequent quickie wedding to Rick Solomon in Vegas (yes, the same Rick Solomon who bedded Paris Hilton in the infamous sex tape) lasted nine months.

Speaking of Paris Hilton, word has it that Spears has been showing friends her wedding video. Can an Internet download be far behind?

Staff writer Mimi Avins contributed to this report.