Taylor Swift pays $160,000 for NYC wedding permits
New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani confirmed that pop star Taylor Swift covered the cost of permits and municipal services for her July 3 wedding to NFL player Travis Kelce at Madison Square Garden, paying more than $160,000. The payment addressed street‑closure, traffic‑management and police deployment costs for an event that hosted roughly 1,000 guests and required dozens of officers.
The high‑profile ceremony, described by media as one of the most expensive weddings in recent memory, is estimated to have cost between $15 million and $50 million, with lavish décor, custom Dior attire and a celebrity guest list.
A week later the newlyweds made their first public appearance as spouses at former teammate JuJu Smith‑Schuster’s wedding in Laguna Beach, California, where Swift displayed her wedding ring. Meanwhile, New York artist Justin Gignac collected discarded items from the garden’s sidewalks after the ceremony and sold them as limited‑edition acrylic‑encased art, which sold out within a day.
The episode sparked debate over the use of city resources for private events and highlighted the commercial power of Swift‑related memorabilia.