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Taylor Swift is planning to capture every moment of her wedding of the century on camera – but has gone completely ‘bridezilla’ on controlling every second of the footage, the Daily Mail can reveal.
The pop superstar, who has built a multi-billion-dollar empire by turning every chapter of her life into a sellable product, has assembled a professional film crew to document her July 3 nuptials with Travis Kelce at New York City's Madison Square Garden.
Her big day is set to feature a castle being built inside the iconic stadium – setting the stage for the backdrop to be a picture-perfect fairytale straight out of a Disney movie.
It is a move that will come as no surprise to anyone who has watched Swift operate, with the Eras Tour hitmaker already turning her Eras Tour into a six-part Disney+ documentary series.
The star has multiple ties with Disney, recently writing a song for the release of Toy Story 5, sparking speculation that if anyone will get their hands on the footage it could be Disney.
Taylor Swift has enlisted a professional film crew to document her July 3 wedding with Travis Kelce at New York City's Madison Square Gardens. Sound and high-end production equipment were spotted being unloaded from trucks on Tuesday
Crews worked to unload truckloads worth of equipment at the wedding venue ahead of the wedding on Friday
The pop superstar, pictured with her groom-to-be in New York City in May, has built a multi-billion-dollar empire by turning every chapter of her life into a sellable product
Swift, 36, has already released a concert film and multiple self-produced visual albums - each one owned outright by her, released on her timeline, and monetized on her terms.
Exclusive photographs obtained by the Daily Mail captured professional monitors, camera rigs and high-end production equipment being loaded through the arena’s loading bay in the lead up to her big day.
Sources say Swift turned down offers worth tens of millions of dollars from streaming giants who wanted to broadcast the ceremony live.
The wedding footage, insiders say, will be hers alone to edit, release, and profit from however and whenever she chooses.
‘This isn’t about privacy - it’s about control,’ one insider told Naughty But Nice.
‘Taylor wants to own the footage, oversee the edit, and decide exactly what people see. No one else gets to tell this story.’
A filming notice was spotted at one of the entrances to Madison Square Garden on Thursday night. Since all guests were asked to hand in devices, Swift's crew will be the only cameras in the room
Caseloads of recording equipment were spotted being hauled off trucks and int the area on Tuesday
A crate with 'monitor inside' was among the items to arrive at MSG on Tuesday ahead of the highly-anticipated wedding
As equipment continued to arrive at the iconic area, sources said Swift turned down offers worth tens of millions of dollars from streaming giants who wanted to broadcast the ceremony live
And there is a permit that confirms the cameras are already rolling.
Filed with the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment and marked approved, the permit covers a ‘Special Event at Madison Square Garden’ running from June 29 through July 4.
Its listed event type: ‘Theater Load in and Load Outs’, which is the industry classification used when professional staging and production equipment is being moved into a venue.
It is a playbook Swift has run before - and lucratively.
Her six-part Eras Tour documentary, The End of an Era, which landed on Disney+ last December was shot by her own team and covered backstage access and the inner workings of the tour.
It debuted alongside a full concert film of the Vancouver final show. Both were released with no studio or broadcaster having any say over a single frame.
‘It’ll happen on Taylor’s timeline, after she’s edited it and is ready,’ one insider said of the wedding footage.
‘If Taylor wanted total privacy, she could have quietly gotten married at home with a handful of people,' another source added.
‘Instead, she’s planning an event big enough to shut down part of a city. She’s never hidden her personal life - she’s managed it.’
And if a wedding film is coming, Swift’s intellectual property machine is almost certainly already moving.
Her company, TAS Rights Management has filed more than 300 trademark applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, covering everything from her name and album titles to tour merchandise.
No production title for a wedding film has yet surfaced in the public database.
Daily Mail has reached out to Taylor's representatives for comment.
An approved permit filed with the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment is said to cover a ‘Special Event at Madison Square Garden’ running through July 4
Exclusive photographs obtained by the Daily Mail captured professional monitors, camera rigs and high-end production equipment being loaded through the arena’s loading bay
Fake trees, audio and visual equipment, stage set up and design equipment, production, speakers, fencing, foam bricks and chairs listed for 'afterparty production' were among the items being offloaded from the trucks
But trademark filings can take months to appear, and Swift’s team routinely files under corporate names that give nothing away until she is ready.
The scale of the production taking shape inside MSG makes the filming angle easy to believe.
Around 1,100 people are expected at the July 3 celebrations, according to sources with direct knowledge who spoke to NBC News.
Invitations were sent electronically and came with non-disclosure agreements, with guests being told nothing beyond showing up in New York between July 3 and 5.
A more intimate gathering of around 100 people is expected the evening before, serving as a rehearsal dinner.
The larger celebration on Friday is said to be ‘bigger than the Met Gala’.
Page Six has since revealed the full running order for what will be a 10-hour celebration.
Doors open for guests at 3:30pm on Friday, with cocktail hour beginning at 4pm on the sixth-floor concourse.
The ceremony itself starts at 5:30pm on the arena floor and reception kicks off at 6:30pm – running straight through until 2:00 a.m.
Swift's six-part Eras Tour documentary, The End of an Era, which landed on Disney+ last December was shot by her own team and covered backstage access and the inner workings of the tour
The rehearsal dinner will run from 6:00 to 10:30pm in MSG's Infosys Theater, with the estimated 100 guests arriving through the 4 Penn entrance.
The theater, which holds over 5,000 seats, was chosen in part because it offers a secure arrival point shielded from photographers.
Swift is said to have multiple outfit changes planned across the evening. Inside the arena, workers have been draping fabric from the ceiling.
The A-list guest list confirmed to Page Six includes Selena Gomez, Karlie Kloss, Zoe Kravitz, Ed Sheeran, the Haim sisters, Suki Waterhouse and Gigi Hadid. Stevie Nicks and Tim McGraw are among those set to perform.
Industry heavyweights due to attend reportedly include Republic Records chairman Monte Lipman and Universal Music Group CEO Lucian Grainge.
Outside the venue, the picture is equally dramatic. New York City police have confirmed they have been warned to prepare for a surge of fans.
The National Guard has been deployed around the building. A permit filed with the city’s Street Activity Permit Office by Winick Productions - a prominent event planning company - covers street closures around MSG from July 2 to midday July 4.
The filing lists up to 999 attendees and includes a tent or canopy structure outside the venue.
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