It was a scene that wouldn\u2019t have been out of place in a cinematic Taylor Swift song.<\/p>\n
There was record heat. There were sudden and intense storms blowing through. The city teemed with celebrities from seemingly every corner of public life \u2014 from the actress Mariska Hargitay to the musician Ed Sheeran to the model Gigi Hadid to the comedian Adam Sandler, the wedding officiant \u2014 many of whom flew from across the world for Swift and her now-husband Travis Kelce without knowing almost any details about the event.<\/p>\n
It was the most public setting one could imagine, and yet the most private celebrity wedding, in recent memory, of such a size, completely shrouded in secrecy. Manhattan was alive with sailors in town for Fleet Week, soccer fans visiting from the world over to watch the World Cup and tourists in town to see the tall ships in the harbor for the Fourth of July. The heat, which peaked at 100 degrees, also lent a level of intensity to the day.<\/p>\n
The White House commented on it, and little girls came from neighboring states to watch it. Only Taylor Swift, the woman whose songwriting has inspired fans young and old and whose love life the public has watched, criticized and cooed at over the years, could have a wedding that would bring together such a scene.<\/p>\n
Outside Madison Garden, Zeinab Yassine, 13, from Long Island, watched a caravan of black vehicles ferrying guests to the wedding with her mother. Soon, she spotted Hargitay roll down the window to wave to fans.<\/p>\n
Most of all, Yassine was happy for Swift and her then-husband-to-be Travis Kelce.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re so cute,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m so happy she finally found love.\u201d<\/p>\n
There is an intangible thing that happens when groups of Swifties get together, even if they are strangers: an immediate bond, an easy shorthand talking about favorite songs, albums and boyfriends. It is like realizing you have a good mutual friend with someone you\u2019re just meeting for the first time. Except, in this case, the friend is a megastar you have not technically met.<\/p>\n
Tammy Bogard, a sales associate from Dallas, said she had attended the Eras tour in London, the first show after a thwarted terror attack in Vienna that forced Swift to cancel her shows there. The London show was an emotional experience for Bogard, 54, who said she was then just a burgeoning fan.<\/p>\n
She was impressed by the show, but was even more moved by the crowd.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the other Swifties, that\u2019s the thing you can\u2019t describe to people,\u201d she said. Bogard went on to see the tour again and now considers herself a full-fledged Swiftie, even giving a Times reporter a friendship bracelet, the wearable trinkets that are traded among the star\u2019s fan base.<\/p>\n
That friendly energy was present outside the Garden on Friday, as crowds of fans congregated hoping to catch a glimpse of Swift. At a barricade along Seventh Avenue, a group of fans sang \u201cLove Story\u201d while news cameras filmed them.<\/p>\n
The list of celebrities spotted heading into the event was dizzying: Benson Boone, Ethan Hawke, Jason Sudeikis. Each had a connection to a song or to a chapter in Swift or Kelce\u2019s lives. Boone opened for her on tour<\/a>; Hawke starred in a music video<\/a> and Sudeikis is a fan of Kelce\u2019s team<\/a>, the Kansas City Chiefs.<\/p>\n Shortly after 7:30 p.m., their nuptials became official when a sign broke the news outside the arena: \u201cJUST&T MARRIED.\u201d Not long after, the skies opened and poured down rain.<\/p>\n