Country star Brad Paisley attended Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's July 3 wedding at Madison Square Garden in New York and said the event was more grounded than its high-security, invite-only reputation might suggest.
According to Billboard, Paisley spoke to the Associated Press about the wedding, describing how tightly Swift and Kelce controlled information leading up to the event. "They were very clear with the invite," Paisley said. "And I took this personally when I got the invite, because in the invite it said, 'If you're getting this, you mean a lot to us.'"
Paisley's connection to Swift goes back nearly two decades. He invited a then-17-year-old Swift to open on his 2007 Bonfires & Amplifiers tour, a run that helped establish her in Nashville. That history made receiving the invitation feel personal to him.
The details of the wedding were released slowly, and Paisley said he found the process entertaining. "[They were like], 'We can tell you roughly where it's going to be. We're not going to say what building, and here's the date, and if you're in, we'll tell you more.' And I went to my wife and said, 'You wanna go?' And she said, 'Absolutely! We got to be there,'" Paisley said, referring to himself and his wife, Kimberly Williams-Paisley.
Despite the watermarked invitations and heavy security, Paisley said the atmosphere inside the event was warm and unpretentious. He described it as "one of the least pretentious weddings I've ever seen or ever will see," and added, "It meant a lot to be [there]. It was kind of a big 'thank you' from her to invite us."
Comedian and actor Adam Sandler officiated the ceremony. Hundreds of guests reportedly attended, including Miranda Lambert, Maren Morris, Jennifer Lopez, Bradley Cooper, Ed Sheeran, Gigi Hadid, Kelsea Ballerini, the Haim sisters, Lena Dunham, Jason Sudeikis, and Maren Morris, among others.
Swift and Kelce also donated $26 million to charitable organizations ahead of the wedding. Among the recipients was The Store, Paisley's nonprofit that assists families experiencing food insecurity. Paisley described the donation as a "transformative" gift.
