On its own, taking over Madison Square Garden – an iconic fixture in NYC – is a feat requiring millions. Then the couple also closed down the area, which includes one of the city’s primary transit hubs. The spectacle showcased the power the couple holds, with Swift widely recognised as one of the globe’s most powerful and famous people.
Their two-day wedding celebrations led news broadcasts, lit up the Empire State Building in NYC and spurred millions in online betting markets as details of their nuptials left people speculating for weeks.
Pop culture critic Kristen Meinzer told the BBC that the couple is meaningful because Swift and Kelce are from two important worlds when it comes to pop culture and American identity.
“We worship at the throne of music and football, these are all the things we love in America married together,” she said.
New York City also has a long-standing ethos of treating celebrities as part of the fabric of everyday life rather than as spectacles too.
“We aren’t people who run up to our celebrities, we usually leave them alone,” Meinzer added.
The Pennsylvania-born singer has been based in New York since 2014 – when she bought two adjoining Tribeca penthouses for $20m (£15m) and combined them into one massive living space.
She fell in love with the city after discovering she could go shopping without being bothered, saying that she was “physically different since” moving there. The move also inspired her 1989 album track Welcome to New York.
Kelce, who is based in Kansas for his American football career, was introduced to the Big Apple when he started dating Swift in 2023.
The couple likely spent tens of tens of millions of dollars to rent out the iconic arena, planning experts told the BBC.
Ahead of the festivities, the billionaire singer and wealthy athlete donated $26m (approx. £19.5m) to more than 20 charities – though made no mention of a wedding.
To many, though, the 20,000-capacity arena – which hosts concerts and sports matches with beer-drinking fans – felt like an unusual choice for the couple, though the venue does boast an unusual level of privacy because of its lack of windows and underground access points. But many said if anyone could transform the arena into a wedding wonderland, it would be Swift.
“I thought it was going to be more gardens, more flowers, more tropical. Something more fancy, something more Taylor Swift,” Canadian teen Emily told the BBC outside the venue.
New York resident Rose said it was “sort of absurd” that the couple shut down the busy streets around the arena, but believes the ceremony would be beautiful “because it’s Taylor Swift”.
“I hope it’s a beautiful wedding…but I think they should do it somewhere that’s less inconveniencing to general populace of New York City,” she laughed.
Fans broke out into cheers outside Madison Square Garden when the just married signs lit up outside the arena.
Fan Tara Rosales was one of the many who were unconvinced the wedding would actually take place at the famed arena.
“I knew that she was going to get married in New York but I had no idea where. So I can’t believe it, I’m actually shook and I’m so excited,” she said.
“She’s never an inconvenience. Taylor can do whatever she wants.”
