It looks as though Taylor Swift will be tying the knot with Travis Kelce on 4 July weekend, after weeks of rumours that the couple are planning to host the nuptials at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
The pop titan and the Kansas City Chiefs tight end became engaged in August last year, sparking mass speculation over everything from the wedding venue to who’ll be on the guestlist.
This week, the New York Times reported that a permit was filed with New York City to close the streets around Madison Square Garden from 2 July to midday 4 July, for an event taking place on 3 July.
Many have (justifiably) questioned why anyone would want to get married on the busiest weekend in America, as it marks its 250th birthday, in its busiest city.
But from the moment Swift announced her engagement, many fans immediately singled out the 4 July weekend as a likely date for Swift’s wedding, as she has explicitly referred to it as one of her favourite holidays.
Swift lore tells that the “Shake It Off” star purchased her now-famous “Holiday House” on Rhode Island for a reported $17.75m in spring 2013. The seaside property, situated in Watch Hill, boasts eight bedrooms, 10 bathrooms and 700 feet of private beachfront.
It was previously owned by oil heiress Rebekah Harkness and her husband, William Hale Harkness; Rebekah was known for throwing lavish parties and making unusual additions to the house, such as eight kitchens, as well as for being a patron of the arts. Swift immortalised Rebekah and the house in her song “The Last Great American Dynasty”.
It was here, in June 2013, that Swift posted for the first time about throwing a 4 July party for her crew, having just come off the Canadian leg of her RED tour. “Independence Day is one of my favourite holidays of the year,” she wrote in a blog post. “This time around, my touring family joined me at the beach and I wanted to show you some of the pictures because you’re the reason we all get to be on tour together.”
After that, as Instagram boomed in popularity, Swift began documenting her 4 July parties as they grew to feature some very familiar faces. In 2014 that meant Girls creator Lena Dunham, model Jaime King, singer Ingrid Michaelson and Gossip Girl actor Jessica Szohr, as well as Hollywood actors Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield, who were dating at the time (Stone and Swift are best friends).
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2015 was the year of the “Squad”, the name given to Swift’s group of friends comprising supermodels, actors and musicians, many of whom appeared in her star-studded “Bad Blood” music video. Among the attendees was Ed Sheeran, who reconnected with his now-wife and former schoolfriend, Cherry Seaborn, after learning she was in Rhode Island and asking Swift if she could join them. “Our anniversary is [Swift’s] 4 July party,” Sheeran told People in 2017.
Also present at Swift’s 2015 4 July party were the Haim sisters, some of the Jonas brothers, Victoria’s Secret model Martha Hunt and Swift’s then-boyfriend, Scottish DJ and producer Calvin Harris. There were pool floats of all shapes and sizes, and a blow-up red, white and blue waterslide.
In 2016, the public and media obsession over Swift’s 4 July celebrations reached frenzy point, as by then she was dating British actor Tom Hiddleston (remember the notorious “I <3 TS” tank top?). In attendance this year were Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, who was then pregnant with their second child, as well as Gigi Hadid, Cara Delevingne and her then-girlfriend Annie Clark (aka the pop artist St Vincent), Este Haim, Karli Kloss and Ruby Rose.
The 4 July celebrations went quiet amid Swift’s hiatus in the fallout from her highly publicised feud with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, and then as she seemed to pursue a more private life with her then-boyfriend, British actor Joe Alwyn. In an interview with The Guardian in 2019, Swift also said her “disillusionment” with America was why she stopped hosting them, as Donald Trump had by then won his first presidential election.
She also acknowledged her role in creating a public fascination around her and her “squad” by making their lives visible on social media. It reached a point where, if she didn’t post a birthday tribute to a friend, for instance, fans and the media would speculate they had fallen out: “Because we didn’t post about it, it didn’t happen, and I realised I had done that,” she said. “I created an expectation that everything in my life that happened, people would see.”
In July 2023, though, the summer Swift quietly began dating Kelce, she brought back her “Taymerica” bash, although this time it was a decidedly more low-key affair: she shared a carousel of photos, captioning it, “Happy belated Independence Day from your local neighbourhood independent girlies.” She was pictured with friends including fellow pop star Selena Gomez,
All of this is going to pale, though, in comparison to the celebrations rumoured to be taking place this weekend. Winick Productions, an event planning company that produces major high-profile events, filed an application for activity at Madison Square Garden with the city’s Street Activity Permit Office in early June, according to the report citing multiple sources.
The company requested authorisation to set up a tent or canopy outside the arena for the event, which it said would include 500 to 999 attendees. The permit also stated that trucks would need space to load and unload materials at the venue.
The Independent has contacted the mayor’s office and Swift’s representatives for comment.
