The wedding singer turned celebrant
Of all the people Taylor Swift could have chosen to officiate her wedding, nobody had Adam Sandler on their bingo card. But here we are.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are officially married, and the ceremony came with a twist nobody saw coming. Jewish comedian Adam Sandler officiated the whole thing.
The pop megastar and the Kansas City Chiefs tight end tied the knot on Friday night (US time) at Madison Square Garden in New York, with the deep secrecy surrounding the event only lifting when a marquee outside the Midtown Manhattan arena lit up with the words “JUST&T MARRIED.”
According to Swift’s publicist Tree Paine, the couple skipped the traditional bridesmaids and groomsmen route. Instead, Swift’s younger brother Austin served as her man of honour, while Kelce’s older brother and podcast co-host Jason Kelce was best man.
The bride and groom wore Christian Dior Haute Couture designed by Jonathan Anderson, with custom Christian Louboutin shoes and Cartier jewellery.
But it was Sandler’s role as officiant that really got people talking, particularly in Jewish circles. Paine’s announcement described Sandler simply as “a friend” of the couple, but his involvement quickly became one of the most discussed details of the night.
The connection between Sandler and Kelce goes back to the footballer’s cameo in Happy Gilmore 2, Sandler’s 2025 sequel to Happy Gilmore, and a subsequent appearance on the Kelce brothers’ New Heights podcast. Sandler has also spoken publicly about his friendship with the couple, saying it developed through his daughters, who are Swift fans.
The guest list read like a who’s who of entertainment and sport.
Actors Bradley Cooper, Zoe Kravitz, Hugh Grant and Ethan Hawke were in attendance, along with models Gigi Hadid and Karlie Kloss, comedian Chris Rock, director Steven Spielberg and singer Camila Cabello. On the sports side, Chiefs coach Andy Reid, retired NFL superstar Tom Brady and Seattle Seahawks receiver Cooper Kupp were among those spotted arriving at the arena.
The event also drew a notable contingent of Jewish guests, including the Haim sisters, who recently attended a Knicks game with Swift, writer and actor Lena Dunham, businessman Joshua Kushner and Kelce’s former teammate Mitchell Schwartz.
Phones were apparently banned inside the arena, resulting in a near-total social media blackout from guests once they entered, which only added to the surreal atmosphere. Outside, fans and spectators gathered in blistering heat, eager to be part of the occasion even though the event was almost entirely hidden from view.
It was the first marriage for both Swift, 36, and Kelce, also 36 and a three-time Super Bowl champion. Their relationship has fascinated millions around the world ever since the pair first started dating in 2023, after Kelce showed up at her Eras Tour concert at the Chiefs stadium.
Lori Powers, who rode the train from an hour north of Manhattan to soak up the atmosphere, told the Associated Press that Swift’s music was the soundtrack to her life. Her friend Cecily Hall added that the combination of sport and music made perfect sense for a wedding at Madison Square Garden.
It didn’t take long for the conversation to shift beyond wedding fashion and celebrity sightings. Sandler’s role as officiant drew criticism from pro-Palestinian voices online, who argued it was significant that someone who has previously described himself as “very pro-Israel” married the couple.
Swift has largely avoided wading into polarising political issues, and her outlook on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been a source of confusion for many fans. Her decision not to publicly criticise Israel is seen as having bolstered her popularity among Israelis, while some pro-Palestinian fans have protested at her concerts and others have speculated she is privately sympathetic to their cause but has avoided speaking out for fear of alienating fans.
Despite describing himself as “very pro-Israel” in a 2015 appearance on Howard Stern’s radio show, Sandler is not known to have engaged in activism on the issue. He has said little publicly about Israel since the immediate aftermath of the October 7 attack, when he said his “heart is shattered” and signed an entertainment industry letter calling on then-president Joe Biden to help return Israeli hostages taken by Hamas. He has never visited Israel, as he revealed in a 2022 interview.
For some observers, the backlash over Sandler’s involvement highlighted a broader pattern. Pro-Israel influencer Ran Alkalay posted on Instagram that regardless of whether Jewish figures stay silent or avoid politics, antisemites will still find reasons to target them.
Others focused on a different detail entirely. Kansas City rabbi David Glickman noted on Facebook that Swift and Kelce had given US$26 million in charitable gifts ahead of their wedding. Glickman drew a parallel to the Jewish tradition that a bride and groom have the ear of God on their wedding day, and praised the couple for making their celebration greater through generosity. Their charitable gifts, he wrote, were more impressive than a wedding at MSG.
Meanwhile, a viral parody post from the satirical account Buzz Crave declared that the newlyweds had left for Israel to start their honeymoon.
They hadn’t, of course, but at that point the internet was having a field day.