Madonna and director Guy Ritchie to marry this month

LONDON - Madonna last wed on a sunny oceanside bluff in California with news helicopters hovering overhead. This month, the local registrar says, the Material Girl and her British film director boyfriend will marry in a coastal town in the Scottish Highlands.

And now the speculation begins: Will the nuptials be in the 13th-century Dornoch Cathedral or at Skibo Castle, with its 7,500 acres of private grounds?

Lesley Conner, the registrar in Dornoch, a northern Scottish town famous for its sandy beaches and spectacular mountainous scenery, published an official proclamation Thursday listing the couple's intended marriage on Dec. 22.

The notice, required for all Scottish weddings, read that Guy Stuart Ritchie would marry Madonna Louise Ciccone on Dec. 22. It provided no further details.

''This is the most famous person we have put up on the list,'' Conner said.

A New York-based spokeswoman for the pop star refused comment.

While specifics about a wedding venue remained under wraps, the British media speculated Dornoch Cathedral or Skibo Castle likely would play a role.

The cathedral, founded in 1224, boasts magnificent views of the Royal Burgh of Dornoch, a quiet historic town of sandstone cottages.

The castle, about four miles outside the town center, would ensure privacy. Featuring 20 bedrooms in the main building and an additional 12 private lodges, it is surrounded by 7,500 acres of private grounds.

Madonna, 42, and Ritchie, 32, have a 3-month-old son, Rocco. The singer also has a daughter, Lourdes, now 3, from a previous relationship. Ritchie, Madonna and the children now live in west London's fashionable Notting Hill neighborhood.

Dornoch has long been popular with tourists. In addition to stunning natural scenery, it also boasts a world-famous golf course.

Business owners in the town of 2,500 people said the announcement of Madonna's wedding already was attracting customers. Some hotels that normally close during the quiet winter season planned to open. Others said they were already fully booked.

''Dornoch has many attractions and this wedding has created great publicity for the town,'' said Paul Hart, owner of the Eagle Hotel, which already has taken reservations for all its rooms.

''Hopefully, this will put Dornoch on the map and attract people to the area,'' he said.

But many Dornoch residents said they didn't understand what all the fuss was about. Gordon Mackie, a retired shopkeeper, wasn't sure if he'd even recognize the singer.

''If she walked down through the town, nobody would probably recognize her,'' he said.

For Madonna's first marriage, to actor Sean Penn in 1985, elaborate secrecy required guests to telephone almost at the last minute to find out where the celebration was being held. Still, dozens of photographers and reporters converged on the multimillion-dollar mansion outside Malibu, Calif. The couple divorced in 1989.

Ritchie's best-known work is the film ''Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.'' It would be his first marriage.