Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce wedding events at Madison Square Garden to include rehearsal dinner, late-night celebration, sources say

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce will be celebrating their nuptials this holiday weekend in New York City after days of speculation about the most anticipated celebrity wedding of the year.

The couple plans to have a rehearsal dinner Thursday evening and a wedding celebration Friday into the early hours of Saturday morning at Madison Square Garden, according to two law enforcement sources familiar with the security planning for the events.

The rehearsal dinner Thursday will be for around 100 people at the Infosys Theater at Madison Square Garden, the two sources told CBS News. The second, larger event can accommodate around 1,000 people, the sources said, and it could go until 4 a.m.

ABC News was first to report the planned celebrations on Tuesday.

Fans have been eagerly awaiting details and sharing rumors about the potential ceremony for Swift and Kelce after news broke that Swift had rented out the massive concert venue, which locals refer to as “the Garden.”

Swift’s team applied for a street activity permit from July 2 to July 4, a senior law enforcement source told CBS News last week. The source added that the event planners will need to hire private security because New York Police Department resources are already tight during that time, when tourists flood the city for the Fourth of July weekend.

The NYPD did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this story.

John Hart, a retired assistant chief of the NYPD who has extensive experience handling security for high profile events, told CBS News that the confined space of Madison Square Garden will help the security team keep Swift, Kelce and their guests safe. He added that obtaining the street activity permits frees up the burden on the NYPD and allows for private security to help secure the area around the venue.

“That said, it will be swarmed by media of all types and fans hoping to catch a glimpse,” Hart said.  

Managing media and what’s known as “fan pens” will likely fall on the NYPD, as they will be outside the hard frozen zone secured by private security.

“Paparazzi chasing cars with guests and swarming hotels will be a side issues that will fall to NYPD as well,” Hart said.