Photo-Illustration: Curbed; Photos: Getty
First, the tabloids reported that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding would take place in mid-June in Watch Hill, Rhode Island, where she owns a mansion. Then it was “leaked” that save-the-dates had gone out with a July 3 date and New York City location. July 3? New York City? That’s the same weekend as the city’s Fourth of July fireworks, the first-ever Times Square ball drop to mark Independence Day, and Sail250, the tall-ships event marking the U.S. semi-quincentennial.
But then again, why not? As our newsroom’s resident Taylor Swift expert, Zach Schiffman, noted, the singer famously loves the Fourth of July, and her fiancé’s NFL training schedule resumes at the end of the month. While it might be an elaborate ruse to throw paparazzi off the trail, the city’s busiest weekend might provide the perfect storm of distractions to take the focus off America’s royal wedding.
Here at Curbed, we had our own theories about where the wedding might happen: the Frick (super-classy, a brand-new renovation), Ellis Island (it’s an island!), and Rockefeller Center for its Art Deco appeal. I’m voting for City Hall (that’s right — total chaos!), which is as New York as you can get.
But what do the experts think? I chatted with a number of veteran NYC wedding planners to see where they thought Swift and Kelce would most likely exchange vows and where they would personally recommend. And then I asked Zach to chime in.
“One reason I don’t always love celebrity weddings is they’re not that creative,” said Jes Gordon of JesGORDON/properFUN, who has planned events for Elton John’s AIDS Foundation as well as an after-party for Sting. She predicted a Swift wedding at the Plaza Hotel simply because it’s a familiar, tried-and-true event space–hotel. “I kind of hope it’s not there, but it’s easy for them and convenient,” she said.
But if Gordon were in charge? “I’d love for them to have a cool barbecue under the Brooklyn Bridge,” she said. “How dope would that be?” The vision: Take over the Brooklyn waterfront south of the bridge, where several thousand guests could enjoy the River Café, a spin on Jane’s Carousel, and the Pier 2 Roller Rink. The catch — it’s a big, unsecured public space. “We would have to buy permitting for it, and it would cost a shit ton of money. But we have done this in areas of Central Park and other public spaces like the High Line, too,” she said. “It takes money, power, and a lot of balls.”
The Brooklyn waterfront, with Jane’s Carousel.
Photo: Busà Photography/Getty Images
Alyssa Pettinato, the owner of Manhattan-based Alinato Events, who has planned more than 150 weddings in the NYC area, said Swift might choose Oheka Castle, where the singer shot the music video for “Blank Space.” It’s also the venue she’d recommend.
Long Island? That’s not New York. But for someone seeking privacy, it makes sense. The secluded Gold Coast estate that was once home to the German-born financier Otto Hermann Kahn is said to have inspired that F. Scott Fitzgerald novel. One of the largest homes in the U.S., it features a big ballroom and 34 guest rooms and suites. You can get there only by car, and the 22-acre grounds are gated.
“A lot of celebrities have gotten married there. It’s an hour outside Manhattan and has an estate kind of vibe — sort of Newport-esque,” said Pettinato. “Plus there’s a beautiful garden for an outdoor ceremony.” Here, however, Swift would have to go without the New York skyline in the wedding photos.
Oheka Castle.
Photo: J. Conrad Williams/Newsday via Getty Images
Manhattan-based planner Jennifer Zabinski, who designed weddings for both Serena Williams in 2017 and her sister Venus last December, nominated the Met Cloisters in Fort Tryon Park for its medieval architecture and dramatic location that’s “high, overlooking the Hudson River — with iconic views.”
“The Cloisters doesn’t often allow events on-site,” said Zabinski, who has planned several weddings at the venue. “But we can’t imagine they would refuse Taylor and Travis if they wanted to tie the knot there.”
This was Zach’s favorite recommendation. “I like that it’s Manhattan but all the way up at the tip,” he said. “There’s something special about it, that they don’t normally do weddings there. I think it’d be very her.”
Norma Cohen, a self-described “24-hour event planner–therapist” based in Midwood, predicted that Swift will choose the Park Avenue Armory. “It’s big, secluded, and looks like nothing on the outside,” she said. “And it’s completely transformable. I would make the guests feel like they were teleported to another world!”
Her own proposal, a scheme she cooked up with her daughters, Cookie and Lydia: “Roosevelt Island! It’s unique and it’s outstanding and it stands by itself. It would be unbelievable.”
Which end of the island?
Roosevelt Island’s Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park.
Photo: Audley C Bullock/Shutterstock
“The bottom part with the trees!” said Cohen, who has been in the wedding business for 39 years. “The Franklin Roosevelt State Park. It’s a modern shape — it’s a triangle. It looks like an outside museum. And all those trees!” She’d erect a big transparent tent at the tip of the island with a dance floor and an orchestra. Guests could take the tram to get to the wedding, Cohen added. “We could deck out the tram with flowers. Peonies!”
Zach approved. “Roosevelt Island is a really good idea,” he said. “It can be closed off and has a beautiful view. She wants an iconic New York.”
The Rainbow Room!
Photo: James Leynse/Alamy Stock Photo
Manhattan-based Michelle Rago, who planned the nuptials for Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz, said Swift will likely go with the Rainbow Room — and that’s her recommendation as well. Originally opened in 1934, the Art Deco midtown venue has floor-to-ceiling views from the 65th floor. “When the sun sets, it’s absolutely magical — so, so pretty,” said Rago, who has arranged many Rainbow Room ceremonies. “We’ve had a lot of celebrities and well-traveled clients, and they are still gobsmacked by that view.”
Then there’s the rotating dance floor and small stage, perfect for a band: “It’s just very glamorous, very magical.” The one downside? It seats only 320 guests, and Swift might invite far more.
I did not ask David Stark, a Bushwick-based event planner who has designed events for Glenn Close and Brad Pitt, for his opinion of the Rainbow Room idea, but he gave one anyway.
“It’s a lovely New York icon,” he said. “But she needs something more special.”
Liberty Island.
Photo: Nico De Pasquale Photography/Getty Images
His recommendation: a ceremony and reception on Liberty Island, the home base for the Statue of Liberty. “She’s as American as apple pie, so it feels like an appropriate spot, especially for that time of year,” said Stark. “We’d have a clear-top tent so you can see the statue, and in a perfect world, there’d be fireworks that you could see from the shore. It’d be incredibly private because you get there by boat.”
Of course, that’s assuming the affair will actually take place in New York City. Stark is doubtful. “It could be anywhere in the world,” he said, “and this is all just to throw everyone off the trail.”
But Zach is optimistic. “No matter what she does, the wedding is going to be a circus,” he said. “New York can handle a circus. Rhode Island can’t.”
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