New details are emerging about what has become one of the most closely watched — and least surprising — rumors in entertainment, as Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are reportedly preparing for a wedding celebration.
Three police officers assigned to Madison Square Garden in New York City told the Daily Mail that the iconic venue is set to host a rehearsal dinner on Thursday evening, with the wedding ceremony expected to follow on Friday.
Security positions have already been put in place around MSG, while dedicated “cooling stations” have been arranged to give officers breaks in air-conditioned areas as Manhattan braces for temperatures approaching 100 degrees over the holiday weekend.
On Friday, two groups of officers assigned to security for the event are scheduled to arrive at Madison Square Garden at 2:45 p.m. ET, with a third deployment due 30 minutes later.
The timing could indicate that the most active or significant portion of Friday’s ceremony is expected to take place around 3:15 p.m.
In all, 139 officers have been assigned to manage security for the high-profile gathering, including five lieutenants and 14 sergeants, according to the sources.
Two semi-trucks were parked outside an entrance to Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, obstructing the view of the venue as preparations for Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s reported wedding intensified.
Boxes of lobster were also spotted being rolled into the venue.
A rehearsal dinner is set for Thursday, with the wedding itself scheduled for Friday afternoon
On Friday, two deployments of cops scheduled to guard the wedding will report to MSG at 2.45pm ET, with a third deployment following 30 minutes later
A Krispy Kreme van was also seen in the area
A total of 139 officers have been assigned to oversee the monster bash, including five lieutenants and 14 sergeants, our sources said
Around fifteen National Guardsmen were seen outside a VIP entrance to MSG on Wednesday, with members of Swift’s own security team also present.
Truckloads of equipment have been arriving at all hours in recent days. On Tuesday, ‘carpenters’ in t-shirts bearing the logo of Swift’s 2011 Speak Now world tour were photographed driving forklift trucks, sending fans into a frenzy.
On Wednesday, two enormous semis were carefully parked to block the view of one entrance to the Garden. Another loading dock has been covered by black tarp.
Meanwhile, boxes of lobster – from Maine – have been wheeled inside, suggesting Swift will generously splurge some of her $2billion fortune to feed her guests. A Krispy Kreme van was also seen in the area, though it should be noted that the donut chain has a store inside nearby Penn Station.
Trees and other shrubbery as well a sewing machine were seen being hauled inside MSG, too.
It has been suggested that a life-sized ‘castle’ is being built inside MSG, amid speculation Swift is recreating the fairytale setting of her 2008 Love Story music video, which saw the singer transformed as a medieval princess awaiting her suitor.
One workman told the Daily Mail: ‘It’s incredible inside.’
One female cop who spoke to the Daily Mail said, ‘it’s so not like her,’ of the ostentatious wedding.
Indeed, Swift’s exertion of her famous control-freakery over an extremely public venue that can hold 22,000 people – and all over the July 4 weekend – has raised eyebrows in some quarters.
In one particularly farcical moment, exclusive Daily Mail footage captured workers carefully rolling out a plush red carpet outside the venue Tuesday, only for a visibly flustered aide to rush over moments later and order it be removed.
As for the happy couple, the singer’s private jet landed at Morristown Airport in New Jersey on Tuesday afternoon, 30 miles from her $50million Tribeca townhouse.
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Swift’s exertion of her famous control-freakery over an extremely public venue that can hold 22,000 people – and all over the July 4 weekend – has raised eyebrows in some quarters.
One of Swift’s team was seen wearing a vintage shirt from her Speak Now Tour from 2011
A loading dock at MSG has been covered by black tarp
Trees and other shrubbery have also been taken inside
Wooden branches were photographed at the venue
It is unclear if Swift was on board, but a convoy of six cars arrived to meet the plane.
Kelce, meanwhile, was later filmed out on a solo run near her home.
Public reaction on the streets of New York City has been mixed. ‘Swiftie’ Breanna Spencer, 26, traveled to MSG from her home in Queens at 6.30am on Wednesday to soak up the atmosphere.
‘I’m sure she’s going to turn it [MSG] into something really spectacular,’ Spencer said. ‘I’m still hoping part of this will involve fans as well.’
But some commuters used to battling the arena’s neighboring Penn Station were horrified at the chaos the wedding will no doubt unleash during rush hour the evening before the July 4 holiday weekend.
‘It’s a sh**show,’ one commuter trying to get home to New Jersey told the Daily Mail, adding that the influx of World Cup fans to the city was already bad enough.
‘And on top of this crap we have to deal with this Taylor Swift stuff.
‘I can’t imagine anything worse than being married in the heat in this city on the holiday weekend and amid the World Cup and everything else. What was she thinking?’
Business owners in the highly congested MSG area have also voiced concerns over a potential loss of revenue due to heighted security restrictions. A permit has been filed to close the streets surrounding MSG in Midtown Manhattan from Thursday through midday on Saturday.
An insider told NBC News that 1,100 guests have RSVP’d and are expected to attend Swift’s July 3 wedding.
Sources previously claimed to the Daily Mail that guests – including family and close friends – were required to sign an NDA before receiving any information about the wedding.
For added protection, Swift and Kelce have also individually watermarked each invitation using guests’ first and last names repeatedly across the design, making any leaked invite instantly traceable, say TMZ.
A silver Chevrolet Suburban that Taylor Swift is regularly driven around New York in was seen pulling out of her townhouse Wednesday morning
Details of Swift’s wedding dress are, of course, being kept under lock and key. But one recent report had it that the pop star had commissioned at least five different custom gowns to wear over the course of the celebrations.
Designers Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia of the New York-based brand Monse are though to be included in the running. The duo were recently co-creative directors of Oscar de la Renta until their exit in February.
In April, an insider told the Daily Mail that Swift’s wedding dress could be inspired by the gown Elizabeth Taylor wore for her 1950 wedding to Conrad Hilton.
Swift has a song titled Elizabeth Taylor on her most recent album, The Life of a Showgirl.
