After weeks of speculation on their wedding plans, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have tied the knot at New York’s Madison Square Garden in a ceremony officiated by actor Adam Sandler.
The pair wore Christian Dior, Swift’s longtime publicist said and did not have bridesmaids or groomsmen. Swift’s brother, Austin Swift, served as her man of honour, while Travis’s brother, Jason Kelce, was his best man.
The event shut down one of Manhattan’s busiest corridors and drew Hollywood A-list guests, including actors Hugh Grant and Jason Sudeikis, singer Benson Boone and model Gigi Hadid.
Fans gathered outside the venue throughout the day, with some climbing scaffolding to get a better view. The celebrations began on Thursday with a smaller “pre-party” event, according to a permit filed with New York City officials.
Friday’s ceremony was a larger affair, with a line of blacked-out SUVs seen driving through a pop-up tent erected outside the stadium to shield guests’ arrival.
Some celebrity guests were spotted upon arrival, including Gigi Hadid, her actor boyfriend Bradley Cooper, actress Dakota Johnson and members of Kelce’s football team, the Kansas City Chiefs.
As Swift’s publicist, Tree Paine, confirmed the pair had officially wed, a display outside Madison Square Garden read “JUST&T MARRIED”, a play on Taylor and Travis’s names.
Jonathan Anderson, a creative director at Dior, designed Swift and Kelce’s outfits, Paine said. “This is the designer’s first couture wedding dress for a world-renowned celebrity,” she said in a statement.
Their shoes were custom made by Christian Louboutin, she said, adding that Swift wore Cartier jewellery.
Earlier, the New York Police Department (NYPD) closed the streets around the arena midday, blocking off vehicle and pedestrian traffic.
Swift’s fans lined nearby blocks around the arena, braving temperatures of up to 37°C. Some chanted lyrics to their favourite Swift songs and cheered, “We love you, Taylor.”
New York resident Rose said it was “sort of absurd” that the couple shut down the busy streets around the arena but believed the ceremony would be beautiful “because it’s Taylor Swift”.
The couple likely spent tens of millions of dollars to rent out Madison Square Garden, planning experts told an international media outlet.
The two-day wedding celebrations led news broadcasts, lit up the Empire State Building in New York and spurred millions in online betting markets as details of their nuptials left people speculating for weeks.
Pop culture critic Kristen Meinzer told an international media outlet that the marriage was meaningful because Swift and Kelce come from two important worlds in pop culture and American identity.
