Sir Paul Mccartney - Sir Paul Mccartney And Nancy Shevell Planning Courthouse Wedding

The Beatles legend, 68, who has been dating the American heiress since 2007, proposed to his bride-to-be earlier this month (May11) with a 1925 Cartier engagement ring, worth an estimated $650,000 (£406,250).

But the happy couple is set to shun extravagant festivities to mark their marriage in favour of a "small" ceremony for close family and friends.

Shevell, 51, tells New York Post columnist Cindy Adams, "I don't know the exact date. And don't ask what I'll wear because how dressy do you get to stand before a Justice of the Peace in his chambers? Which is exactly what we're doing."

The wedding will mark MCCartney's third trip to the altar. He lost his first wife, Linda, to breast cancer in 1998 and was married to Heather Mills for four years before their bitter split in 2006. Shevell has been married once before.