Pete and Ashley, First Comes Marriage Then…

One cannot help but wonder, if deeply in love Pete Wentz and Ashlee Simpson discreetly got hitched over the weekend, are we to expect that long-rumored baby in the near future?

We can be sure that two music-lovers like themselves know that little nursery song with the marriage and carriage…

Ashlee and Pete have been playing coy for a while now. They first announced their engagement in early April, confessing they wanted the fans to know because they were so important, “the best,” but declined further comment.

Persistent rumors that the couple was expecting its first baby were dodged by both. Ashlee was discreet and said time will tell, while Pete eventually blew a fuse and wrote a disgruntled email to MTV News fighting against public intrusion into his private life.

While neither would talk about the forthcoming wedding, the happy event has indeed taken place. Ashlee, 23 and Fall Out Boy bassist Pete, 28, exchanged vows Saturday evening in the backyard of her parents’ Los Angeles home, before an intimate gathering of friends and family.

As usual, People magazine has the fashionable details: the bride wore an ivory lace wedding gown by Monique Lhuillier and jewels by William Noble. Dad Joe Simpson performed the non-denominational ceremony and older sister Jessica served as maid of honor.

On a comical note, and perfectly suitable with the “Alice in Wonderland”-themed wedding, Pete’s English bulldog, Hemingway, was the ring-bearer. Among the friends witnessing the beautiful event were Nicole Richie and husband Joel Madden and actor Donald Faison and girlfriend CaCee Cobb.

The romantic tie between Ashlee and Pete has been avidly chronicled by the media since the fall of 2006. Earlier this year, Ashlee was seen wearing a diamond ring on her engagement finger, which she explained was a promise ring from Pete. Both have talked in praising terms of each other and their connection.

OK! reports on its website that the bride used the occasion of having friends and family gathered to reveal that she is indeed expecting. This is the first marriage for both her and Pete. The baby would also be their first.