Soon, Hollywood is expected to get its grand scale wedding of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. The exact date and location have not been officially confirmed and, unlike her usual habit, Swift has not been dropping clues for fans as she often does with her music projects.
According to reports from people close to the couple, the wedding is allegedly set for Friday, July 3, at Madison Square Garden – not exactly a traditional wedding venue, but one of New York's most famous sports and entertainment arenas. Swift knows the venue well, having performed there eight times over the years. The arena also hosts private events and offers spaces that can be rented for gatherings of various sizes.
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Hollywood is expected to get its grand scale wedding of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce
(Photo: Ashley Landis, AP)
Earlier rumors suggested the wedding would take place on Saturday, June 13, in honor of Swift's lucky number, 13. However, July 3 also holds significance for the singer, who is known for her love of Fourth of July celebrations, which take place the following day.
Reports linking Madison Square Garden to the wedding surfaced only recently. Before that, insiders claimed the couple planned to marry at a luxury resort in the Watch Hill neighborhood of Rhode Island, though the venue denied the reports. Madison Square Garden, meanwhile, has neither confirmed nor denied them.
The arena can accommodate up to 20,000 people. While it would not be surprising if the world's most famous power couple could fill every seat, insiders claim that "only" 1,200 friends, family members and acquaintances have received invitations.
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Reports linking Madison Square Garden to the wedding surfaced only recently
(Photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Those fortunate enough to be invited reportedly signed non-disclosure agreements and will be transported to the venue in buses with fully tinted windows under heavy security.
Among those expected to attend are Swift's close friend and presumed bridesmaid, singer Selena Gomez, likely accompanied by her husband Benny Blanco. Also reportedly invited are Gigi Hadid, possibly with Bradley Cooper as her guest, Cara Delevingne and Zoë Kravitz, who, despite no longer being as close to Swift as in the past, is still expected to attend.
Swift's longtime friend Ed Sheeran and his wife Cherry Seaborn are also said to be on the guest list, along with the Haim sisters, whose wedding Swift attended earlier this year, singer Benson Boone, Kelce's coach and NFL teammates, and actress Suki Waterhouse, who is engaged to actor Robert Pattinson and has joked that she hopes to pick up wedding ideas from Swift's event.
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Insiders claim that 'only' 1,200 friends, family members and acquaintances have received invitations
(Photo: Gettyimages)
Not expected to attend are actor Miles Teller and his wife, who were once close friends of the couple but reportedly had a falling out with them for reasons that remain unclear.
There is also considerable speculation surrounding Karlie Kloss, once one of Swift's closest friends. Their relationship reportedly cooled after Kloss married Joshua Kushner, the brother of Jared Kushner, who is married to Ivanka Trump, daughter of President Donald Trump.
Perhaps the biggest question concerns Swift's former best friend Blake Lively. Following the highly publicized controversy that reportedly drew Swift into an uncomfortable situation, their friendship appears to have deteriorated significantly. Whether Lively receives an invitation remains unknown.
One detail fueling the speculation is that Madison Square Garden's schedule appears completely clear during the week from June 29 to July 6, strengthening theories that the venue has been reserved for the wedding and its preparations.
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Perhaps the biggest question concerns Swift's former best friend Blake Lively
(Photo: David Becker, AP)
And how much will the celebration cost?
Estimates place the total bill at around 20 million dollars. According to reports, renting the entire arena for a single Saturday evening costs between 1 million dollars and 2.5 million dollars. Veteran Manhattan luxury wedding planner Sonal Shah told the New York Post that venue rental is only the beginning.
"For a celebrity wedding of this scale, the venue fee would likely be just a fraction of the overall budget," Shah said.
She explained that hosting a wedding at one of the world's most iconic venues involves much more than reserving the space. The costs include exclusive use of the venue, preventing other events from taking place, as well as staffing, security, production, catering, entertainment and design.
"Once you add production, security, catering, entertainment and décor, a Madison Square Garden wedding could very realistically become a 10 million dollars to 20 million dollars-plus event," she said.
Even if the final cost exceeds those estimates, it would represent only a fraction of Swift's fortune, which is estimated at around 2 billion dollars. Kelce's contribution to the couple's future finances is considerably smaller, with estimates placing his net worth between 70 million dollars and 90 million dollars – naturally prompting speculation about a possible prenuptial agreement.
In any case, Swift and Kelce would not be the first couple to marry at Madison Square Garden. Musician Sly Stone held his wedding there in 1974.
Even more famously, in 1982, 2,075 couples were married simultaneously at the venue during a controversial ceremony organized by Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unification Church. Most of the couples had not known each other beforehand and were matched shortly before the ceremony – decades before reality shows built around arranged marriages became popular.
The newlyweds were reportedly allowed to begin living together and consummate their marriages only 40 days later. The church has long maintained that most of the couples remained together afterward.
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A controversial ceremony organized by Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unification Church
(Photo: Bettmann / Contributor)