NEW YORK (AP) — Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce will celebrate their wedding at Madison Square Garden on Friday night, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the security plans.
The festivities will kick off with a smaller rehearsal dinner planned for Thursday night, the official said. The person spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the events.
Speculation about the superstar singer and football player’s nuptials has built to a frenzy in recent days, following weeks of unconfirmed reports that it would take place over July Fourth weekend at one of New York’s iconic landmarks.
FILE – Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) kisses Taylor Swift after the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers at the Super Bowl on Feb. 11, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)(John Locher | AP)
This week, crews have been unloading equipment from trucks outside Madison Square Garden. A large carpet was briefly unveiled outside one entrance and then promptly removed.
Nothing has been publicly confirmed by the couple, despite multiple requests from The Associated Press to Swift’s representative for comment, including on Wednesday.
At a press conference Wednesday, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the department was tracking an event at Madison Square Garden planned for Friday, but declined to go into further detail.
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, center left, and singer Taylor Swift leave Arrowhead stadium after an NFL football game between the Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)(Charlie Riedel | AP)
“The NYPD will of course have a detail in place, but I’m not going to go into more specifics at this time,” Tisch said.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has also confirmed that a permit was filed for a large event. “We are fully prepared,” he added. “There isn’t anything to share beyond that.”
Their relationship later went public in September 2023 when Swift attended her first Chiefs game. She quickly quelled any criticism that she would “hard launch” their relationship and confirmed that she and Kelce started hanging out months prior.
The relationship “started when Travis very adorably put me on blast on his podcast, which I thought was metal as hell,” Swift said. “We started hanging out right after that. So we actually had a significant amount of time that no one knew, which I’m grateful for, because we got to get to know each other.”
Swift then appeared on the New Heights podcast with her beau and his brother (soon to be her brother-in-law), Jason Kelce.
Taylor Swift speaks with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce after an AFC Championship NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024, in Baltimore. The Kansas City Chiefs won 17-10. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)(Julio Cortez | AP)
The episode was Swift’s first-ever podcast appearance, she said, and revealed more about the couple’s relationship than any other media appearances up until that point.
She remained complimentary of Kelce’s boldness, calling it “Such a wild romantic gesture to just be like ‘I wanna date you!’” She also revealed the title and cover of her upcoming album, “The Life of a Showgirl.”
Swift would attend several Kansas City Chiefs games over the next three seasons, including the Super Bowl win over the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas.
The couple announced their engagement in August 2025.
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