The streets of New York City and the first-class lounges of Heathrow and JFK airports were crawling on Friday with celebrities on their way to attend the wedding of the year. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing The Guardian.
Taylor Swift had kept fans guessing about whether it was her nuptials that had caused the closure of 11 streets in midtown Manhattan and the endless deliveries of flowers, food and decorations to the huge Madison Square Garden arena. But as the city filled with the friends and family of Swift and Travis Kelce, it soon became clear the star was in fact tying the knot over the 4 July weekend. New York City permits show the wedding started at 5pm local time, with plans for guests to party until well after midnight.
A bleary-eyed Ellie Goulding, a pop star friend of Swift, was seen boarding a plane in London on Friday morning, joining celebrities including the supermodel Gigi Hadid, Swift's childhood best friend Abigail Anderson Berard, Kelce's aunt and uncle, and Swift's publicist, Tree Paine. The actor and author Lena Dunham, Swift's longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff, and the Hollywood star Bradley Cooper were also spotted on the approach to Madison Square Garden. Gigi Hadid, Cooper's girlfriend and close friend of Swift, was also seen en route to the venue in a pink gown. A truck belonging to an ice sculpture company was photographed entering a restricted road outside the arena on Friday, further ratcheting up anticipation.
Other celebrities spotted in formal wear on Friday afternoon included actors Hugh Grant, Jason Sudeikis and Ethan Hawke, pop singers Benson Boone and Camila Cabello and model Karlie Kloss. Kloss's apparent attendance, along with her husband Joshua Kushner, set social media ablaze, after years of rumors of a feud between the model and Swift. Ed Sheeran, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Sabrina Carpenter have also been seen arriving in New York City, presumably for the event.
Fans have questioned if Swift was behind what looked to be preparations for a giant wedding. Vans unloading flowers, food and the makings of a huge, white fairytale castle have been seen outside the arena in recent days. Many questioned whether Swift was actually holding her wedding to the American footballer Travis Kelce in the venue. It was rumoured previously that the singer would tie the knot on her Rhode Island estate, or in the grounds of a castle on the shores of Lake Como. Even the British private members' club Estelle Manor, in the Cotswolds, was on the list of potential venues. Perhaps the New York City location was an elaborate decoy?
The location was, however, apparently confirmed on Thursday evening when Donna Kelce, the mother of the groom, was seen walking through JFK airport with a huge grin on her face. While some thought Swift would go for a more understated affair, she has been saying for some time that she wanted a giant wedding with thousands of her closest friends. She told the BBC's Graham Norton Show last year: "I know it's gonna be fun to plan because I think the only stressful weddings are the ones where you have a small amount and people are on the bubble. I'm not gonna do that – it's gonna be fun."
Eagle-eyed fans noticed one former best friend of Swift's, Blake Lively, was not at the rehearsal dinner and was instead attending a horse show in upstate New York. It has been said the two fell out after private text messages between the actor and Swift were revealed in court documents during a legal battle between Lively and her former co-star, Justin Baldoni.
Though Buckingham Palace sources said Prince William, who is friendly with Swift, was not attending, he has given the couple a wedding gift of sorts by appearing on Kelce's podcast, which will be out before the wedding at midday EST (5pm BST).
Those hoping to glimpse the festivities via the Instagram pages of the hundreds of guests will be disappointed: the happy couple are said to be implementing a strict no-phones rule. It is unclear whether details of the wedding will be published; it is rumoured Swift turned down Vogue magazine, which wanted to exclusively cover the event.
One enterprising paparazzo managed to get past the security and tents to snap a slim, blurry photo of the decor for the rehearsal dinner. The venue was lit in soft pink lights, with a romantic garden theme similar to that shown in the couple's engagement photo, which was taken in a rose-filled garden. Echoing this, Swift has chosen apricot-coloured roses to fill the stadium. To indicate something special and romantic was happening inside, MSG was lit up a dusky pink on Thursday evening.
For the day itself, it is rumoured Stevie Nicks and Tim McGraw will perform. Swift, who loves to foreshadow events by dropping hints, wore a T-shirt emblazoned with "..."