folklore

Unsurprisingly, the big spectacle was jam-packed with musicians, from Swift’s close collaborators Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner to her close friends in the music industry like Ed Sheeran, Selena Gomez, the Haim sisters, Sombr, Brad Paisley, Miranda Lambert, Kelsea Ballerini, Rascal Flatts guitarist Joe Don Rooney, and Maren Morris.

Some of Swift’s closest friends were in attendance, including Abigail Andersen, Ashley Avignone, Gigi Hadid, Lena Dunham, and Zoë Kravitz. Karli Kloss attended with her husband Joshua Kushner, a surprise after rumors of a rift between her and Swift.

Beyond the music industry, Swift also made sure to invite celebrities she’s bonded with over the years, like Marisa Hargitay from Law & Order: SVU. Dakota Johnson, Julianne Moore, Ethan Hawke, Hugh Grant, Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day, and Jessica Chastain added to the A-list hype. Golden Globes host Nikki Glaser, a longtime Swift fan, also scored an invite, as did The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon.

Of course, several athletes were on Kelce’s side of the aisle, including his Kansas City Chiefs teammates and head coach Andy Reid. Other NFL players, including LA Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, were also there. Kelce brought sports broadcasters to the party in Erin Andrews and Greg Olsen, who are also retired NFL players. Abby Wambach, who attended with wife Glennon Doyle, represented soccer, while NFL commissioner Roger Goodell joined the festivities.

Over the last few months, speculation swirled surrounding the location, guest list, and more. The New York Times reported that on Thursday, July 2 the couple would host “an intimate gathering of about 100 people” and the following day they would hold a larger event with “about 1,000 guests,” citing an “entertainment industry executive and another person with knowledge of the matter.” 

Amtrak police officers in charge of Penn Station, which sits underneath MSG, confirmed to the publication that they were “told to expect a Swift wedding the weekend of July 4.” NYPD officers also told Variety they were “briefed about a potential influx of Taylor Swift fans, paparazzi and onlookers” surrounding the venue on July 3. The Times also reported that a permit was filed in the city for the streets surrounding the venue to be closed between July 2 to midday July 4, affecting traffic during the Fourth of July long weekend.

The pair, who met in 2023, announced their engagement last August via their social media accounts, where Swift quipped “your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married.”

Swift revealed that she first took interest in the Kansas City Chiefs player when he “adorably” mentioned her on his podcast, New Heights. “I thought was metal as hell,” she told Time in a rare interview in 2023. “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.”

In 2024, Kelce appeared onstage at Wembley Stadium during The Tortured Poets Department segment of the Eras Tour. For Swift’s part, she’s attended several of his games with the Chiefs, including the 2024 and 2025 Super Bowls (the Chiefs won in 2024).

Swift has described their romance as something straight out of a movie. “This kind of felt more like I was in an Eighties John Hughes movie, and he was standing outside of my window with boom box, just being like, ‘I want to date you,'” she said on New Heights while announcing her 12th album, The Life of a Showgirl. “This is sort of what I’ve been writing songs about wanting to happen to me since I was a teenager.”