By Lisa Richwine
July 4 (Reuters) – The groom wore a white tuxedo, the couple wrote their own vows and Stevie Nicks sang, according to guests at Friday’s star-studded wedding of megastars Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce in an intimate garden built for the occasion within New York City’s Madison Square Garden arena.
Details trickled out on Saturday of the lavish nuptials that had been a closely guarded secret. Their union was confirmed on giant billboards that flashed “JUST&T MARRIED!”
The pop music superstar and football player have not released any photos, but a few attendees offered a flavor of the event.
Several described a garden setting inside the cavernous and windowless arena where thousands usually attend basketball and hockey games, rock concerts or ice skating shows. The site had been viewed as an unusual choice to exchange wedding vows.
The setting was “as intimate as it could possibly be given that it was Madison Square Garden,” said anchor George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “Really this garden inside the Garden. Just so beautiful.”
“It’s hard to imagine that a place that big and a wedding with such stars could feel so personal and so intimate,” he said.
Swift’s team said the couple wore looks by Christian Dior but released few other details. A representative for Swift did not immediately respond to questions from Reuters on Saturday. No official photos have been made public.
“Good Morning America” co-anchor Robin Roberts said the wedding had many personalized touches.
“They had their neighbors, their high school friends,” she said. “It was like any wedding that you would attend.”
Except this wedding was filled with A-list guests. Celebrities spotted entering or leaving Madison Square Garden on Friday included Selena Gomez, Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, Bradley Cooper, Gigi Hadid, Paul McCartney, Gracie Abrams, Jason Sudeikis and Hugh Grant. Media reports said more than 1,000 people had been invited.
Roberts confirmed the wedding performance of former Fleetwood Mac singer and longtime solo artist Nicks, a friend of Swift’s. Roberts also said the bride and groom wrote their own vows.
Adam Aron, the CEO of AMC Theatres, provided a detailed account on social media platform X that was later removed. In the post, he said the wedding took place in a small portion of the arena that was cordoned off, “devoid of any notion that a basketball or hockey game ever shared that space.”
“After some relaxing and mellow romantic songs played to settle the house, a few violins and cello ushered in the wedding party. Headlined by handsome Travis in a white tux, and a jaw-dropping Taylor in a stunning white wedding dress with a long veiled train,” Aron wrote, noting he had been in “Taylor Swift’s orbit” since AMC released the singer’s Eras Tour concert film in 2023.
Joseph Kahn, director of several of Swift’s music videos, joked about the event’s no-phones policy.
“I haven’t been without my phone that long since 1992,” he posted on X.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by David Gregorio)
