As details continue to emerge and preparations appear to be underway for Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s upcoming multiple-day event at Madison Square Garden, there are still plenty of questions unanswered about what the secretive festivities might look like.
The flowers. The food. The décor. The guest list. What those guests will wear.
The answer to that last one is that Swift and Kelce’s celebratory event, widely expected to be their wedding, appears to be shaping up to be a formal affair. The dress code is black tie, according to two people familiar with the event who spoke to The New York Times on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Many of the women attending will be wearing gowns, one of the people also said.
For men, that means a tuxedo, with a jacket, black bow tie and matching satin-striped trousers. Women have a little more flexibility, with floor-length gowns, elevated cocktail dresses or dressy separates all fitting the bill. (Black tie is a step down in formality from white tie, which requires tailcoats for men and, as the name implies, white bow ties.)
Peters Clothiers, a men’s wear store in Kansas City, posted a photo on Instagram earlier this month of Andy Reid, coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, getting fitted for a tuxedo jacket. “Getting ready for the Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift Wedding!” the caption read, naming Reid, as well as the team’s general manager, Brett Veach, and the team’s vice president of sports medicine and performance, Rick Burkholder, who were also pictured. When reached by a reporter on Tuesday, an employee of the store referred questions to a different employee who did not immediately respond. In May, Reid told the radio show “The Drive” that he “probably had” been invited to the wedding.
Swift and Kelce will hold two different events at Madison Square Garden later this week. There will be an intimate gathering of about 100 people on Thursday evening, which is a rehearsal dinner in the Infosys Theater, not the main arena, according to a person familiar with the plans. On Friday, a larger, splashier event with about 1,000 guests will begin with a cocktail hour at 4 p.m. Both events will have no-phone policies for all guests, vendors and security, the same person said.
The couple has said little publicly about the event, but there were some possible clues outside the Garden on Tuesday afternoon. Semi trucks and forklifts unloaded heavy cargo, some of it the size of a small car, wrapped in dark plastic, including objects that appear to be trees (wooden boxes labeled “trees” were also visible). One of the forklift drivers wore a T-shirt that said: “Taylor Swift CARPENTERS.” When asked if his shirt was related to his job, the man said, “I plead the Fifth.”
Mindy Weiss, the Los Angeles-based event planner behind Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco’s wedding in 2025, said earlier this week that checking guests’ phones at the door had become de rigueur at high-profile events, noting that the guests occasionally brought multiple phones in an attempt to circumvent tech rules and that she and her team were often on the lookout at events for rogue banned devices.
While the guests will be arriving in tuxedos and floor-skimming dresses, the most important look of the night has not been confirmed: what designer might dress the “Love Story” singer?
Swift and Kelce both donned ensembles by Ralph Lauren in their engagement announcement photos, raising speculation that the iconic American designer might again dress the couple. Swift’s longtime friend Selena Gomez wore a halter-neck gown by Ralph Lauren for her 2025 wedding to Benny Blanco.
The Hollywood Reporter reported earlier this week that Swift would wear a Christian Dior look designed by Jonathan Anderson. Swift wore a punk-inspired yellow, plaid high-low overskirt and corset top by the brand to the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards.
There are also several other possible designers among those Swift has worked with before. On her latest tour, Swift wore some costumes by Vivienne Westwood, who designed the minidress Charli XCX wore to her courthouse wedding in 2025. At the 2024 Grammy Awards, Swift wore a draped, strapless white gown by Schiaparelli, which has drawn wedding gown comparisons. Or perhaps it will be Oscar de la Renta; Swift wore a blue, floral gown by the designer to a premiere of her Eras Tour documentary.
Vanessa Friedman and Nate Schweber contributed reporting.
