Madonna - not such a material girl

It's no secret that Madonna Louise Ciccone will marry Guy Stuart Ritchie on Friday, December 22 at a lavish cermeony in Skibo Castle in the Highlands.

Madonna will sing, their baby will be in atendance and all the 'tasteful' showbiz trappings will be in evidence.

But have the pop superstar and the British film director set much-needed standards of decency the celebrities worldwide have been ignoring in pursuit of easy money

Friends of the couple have said that Madonna and Ritchie have turned down 'name your price' offers from Hello! and OK!

Unlike Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones, who netted 1million for coverage of their wedding, the couple have deemed that route tacky.

Instead, like Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, the couple have decided that their fans have a legitimate interest in the wedding and shouldn't have to pay for the privilege of seeing a wedding snap. One picutre will be issued free to all the media.

Will such attitudes sound the death knell for the big buy-out by the celebrity magazines If the really big stars turn their backs on such sell-outs, then it means that only second-raters will be tempted to cash in on their nuptials/christenings/second honeymoons/ and 'romantic renewal of their wedding vows on Barbados.

Accepting cash would mean admitting you are second-rate - and Anthea Turner has already found out the painful price of selling her soul.

So will other celebs follow the example and stop putting their pockets before their principles - or are we whistling in the dark