Heidi Montag, Spencer Pratt Nuptials Questioned

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag don't appear to be any closer to getting legally hitched.

A brief tease for the fourth season finale of MTV's "The Hills" that aired Monday seemed to indicate that the reality TV couple have made their unofficial Mexican wedding ceremony a legitimate marriage in California. The pair were shown walking into a courtroom with Pratt's sister, Stephanie Pratt, while a judge smiled down on them from the bench.

"I, Heidi, take thee, Spencer," Montag coos in the preview.

Despite all the official trappings, the tease of legitimate nuptials for the pair may be just that. A Los Angeles Superior Court official said Tuesday that MTV was recently granted permission to shoot in a courtroom in Beverly Hills, but it was done after hours — and that's not one of their judges sitting on the bench in "The Hills" footage.

MTV was granted permission to film "what purported to be a wedding outside of court hours" at the Beverly Hills courthouse, court spokesman Allan Parachini said Tuesday. He did not know who the participants were in the wedding, but Parachini said court officials wanted the filming to be treated as a news event.

The preview for next week's season finale features a wood-paneled courtroom with the California state seal perched on the wall behind a judge. Civil ceremonies are sometimes performed at the Beverly Hills courthouse, but not in the manner portrayed in the brief preview. If a judge does preside, it is typically in chambers during a break, Parachini said.

Pratt, 25, and Montag, 22, acknowledged that their Nov. 19 marriage ceremony near Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, was entirely symbolic, despite appearing on the Nov. 26 cover of Us Weekly with the headline "Heidi & Spencer Elope!" Monday's episode of "The Hills" depicted the pair spontaneously agreeing to exchange vows after downing several shots of tequila.

"In my mind, it's as legal as the ring on my finger," Pratt told Us Weekly.

A check of marriage records last week did not reveal any filings by Pratt or Montag in Los Angeles County, although the couple could get married in any county in California as well as opt for a confidential license. Officials at two courthouses in neighboring Orange County said they have not received requests from MTV to film in their facilities.

The couple and MTV did not immediately return messages seeking comment Tuesday.

- starpulse.com