Ew, Who Gets Married at Madison Square Garden, Anyway? MSG’s Wedding History Before Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce

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The haters are gonna hate, hate, hate where Taylor Swift is choosing to get married to Travis Kelce: Madison Square Garden. The famed NYC sports venue has been home to countless Knicks basketball games and Rangers hockey games over the decades, but very seldom has it been the choice of love-stricken brides and grooms hoping to exchange “I dos.”

Who in the right mind, after all, would want to profess their undying love in a closed-door arena with no windows and limited ventilation? Who would want to toss beautiful flower petals down an aisle typically trodden by sweaty hoopers or tooth-less skaters? Who would want to get married in one of the grimiest, most tourist-ridden spots in the city, a place whose acronym also stands for a salty food additive?

Not many brides, that’s for sure. But Swift isn’t just any bride. She’s possibly the most famous pop star in the world right now, and god forbid she just wants a bit of privacy.

Before she and Kelce tie the knot, which people with questionable taste have done it before at MSG? Let’s take a look.

Sly Stone and Kathy Silva, 1974

Sylvester Stewart, better known as his stage name Sly Stone, emerged as one of the pioneering musicians in soul and funk in the 1960s and ‘70s. The Texas-born songwriter, who was the frontman for the band Sly and the Family Stone, made his decision to get married at Madison Square Garden based on... convenience. And maybe a booster dose of publicity.

Stone wrote in his memoir, Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin):

“I could do a gig, get paid, and get married at the same time.… We set the date for June 5, a Wednesday. We’d have a ceremony just before the concert, right there on the stage. Then a concert, then a party afterward at the rooftop lounge of the Waldorf Astoria. [A&R Director] Steve [Paley] wanted everyone to wear gold to keep the shine high. Invitations went out.”

True to his dream, Stone and Silva ended up exchanging their vows on stage ahead of one of his concerts at MSG with roughly 20,000 of his fans in attendance. At the time, the couple already shared a 9-month-old child. Their outfits were created by American fashion designer Halston: Stone donned a sequined gold jumpsuit with a matching cape, while Silva wore a long sequined gold dress complete with bangle earrings and matching gold pumps.

“Years later I saw a picture of a ticket someone kept: $8.50 for a wedding and a concert both,” Stone said in his memoir.

Stone and Silva got divorced two years later.

Unification Church ceremony, 1982

The only other wedding hosted in Madison Square Garden was a bit of a cult-y one.

In 1982, 2,075 brides gathered for a mass wedding led by the Unification Church, a religious movement founded in South Korea by Sun Myung Moon. The church’s followers, referred to as “Moonies,” are known for their mass marriage ceremonies, or “Blessings,” where couples are matched and approved by a leader, uniting people across different languages and cultural backgrounds.

Per the church’s doctrine, those participating in “matchings” must have been members for at least three years and practiced chastity. After tying the knot, there’s apparently a 40-day period of “purification” and separation before the couple can consummate their marriage. So... yeah. Very cult-y.

The Unification Church ceremony at MSG included thousands of parents and invited guests who came to witness the mass nuptials. The controversial ceremony was not without its detractors, though. Dozens of former members of the church and parents were reportedly seen demonstrated outside the sports venue carrying signs like “Let Our Children Go!” and “Hitler, Jim Jones, Moon,” according to The New York Times.

Notable on-stage weddings in recent history

Jack White and Olivia Jean, 2022

White Stripes guitarist Jack White proposed to his then-girlfriend Olivia Jean during a show on his Supply Chain Issues tour at Masonic Temple Theatre in Detroit. In the middle of the White Stripes’ 2001 single “Hotel Yorba,” White got on one knee right then and there, and then had a close circle of family members and wedding officials gather on stage to legally marry them. Talk about a rock ‘n roll union.

Jean filed for divorce from White this year, citing irreconcilable differences and “inappropriate marital conduct.”

Lucy Dacus serves as an officiant, 2025

Lucy Dacus, a member of the indie rock group boygenius, legally married nine LGBTQ+ couples on stage during the “All Things Go” music festival in Queens, New York last year. The openly queer Grammy-winning musician shared a post on Instagram looking for couples who wanted to officially get hitched during her tour, and a few months later, vows were joyously exchanged on stage in front of thousands of concert-goers at Forest Hills Stadium.

Dacus’s offer came amid the Trump administration’s efforts to eliminate protections for LGBTQ people, including cutting off grants that funded research for LGBTQ health.

“I think people are very brave to make this decision now, because you’re really aware of what it’s granting you,” Dacus said of officiating the marriages. “You’re choosing who your family is and you’re choosing who knows you well enough to represent you when times are tough.”

We love love.

Real couples get married during Romeo and Juliet at Shakespeare in the Park, 2026

When New York City puts on its production of Romeo and Juliet as part of its Free Shakespeare in the Park this summer, real-life couples will get married on stage at Delacorte Theater.

One couple has already done it: Oscar Diaz and his fiancée Janelly Mendoza, who exchanged their “I dos” in Central Park following a performance of the Shakespearean tragedy. Actor Francis Jue, who plays Friar Lawrence in the play, pulled double-duty as he legally married Diaz and Mendoza earlier this June.

“Romeo and Juliet didn't get their lifetime together,” Jue said during the nuptials. “But tonight, there is a couple who came all the way from the border wall at Laredo, Texas, who would like to commit to their lifetime together with all of you as their witnesses.”

Including Diaz and Mendoza, 32 couples in total will be married, or have vow renewal ceremonies, one after every performance of Romeo and Juliet at Shakespeare in the Park during its summer run. One final, romantic act to end the ill-fated lovers’ story on a hopeful note.

Most famous pop star weddings, including Kim and Kanye

 Mick Jagger and Bianca Pérez-Mora Macías, 1971

Let’s start off with a bang: a famous shotgun wedding. Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger married actress Bianca Pérez-Mora Macías in Saint-Tropez, France just eight months after they met. Macías was pregnant at the time. The two tied the knot in unconventional fashion, with Macías ditching the traditional white gown for a Yves Saint Laurent skirt suit. After word leaked out to the press, the event turned into a full-blown paparazzi circus with quite a few famous celebrities in attendance: Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and Eric Clapton, to name a few.

For all those calling Taylor Swift tacky for potentially singing at her own wedding, Jagger also performed on his big day alongside Bobby Keys, Stephen Stills and Doris Troy.

Madonna and Sean Penn, 1985

Madonna’s prayers went unanswered when the paparazzi swarmed her wedding ceremony on a Malibu beach as she prepared to wed actor Sean Penn in what was supposed to be a secret event.

“Delivery trucks, caterers, and florists were given limited information until the last minute,” read a line from the pop star’s 2023 biography, Madonna: A Rebel Life.

But nothing in Hollywood is sacred, the location was leaked, and Madonna and Penn’s beachside wedding turned into something out of a espionage action movie with swirling helicopters teeming with photographers trying to take the best pictures for the next day’s tabloids. Among the star-studded guest list: Tom Cruise, Charlie Sheen, Andy Warhol, Christopher Walken, Diane Keaton and Carrie Fisher.

Madonna wore a custom dress created by her Like a Virgin tour designer Marlene Stewart; Penn sported an off-the-rack Versace suit. The Queen of Pop walked down the aisle to "Moments in Love,” the 1984 instrumental hit by The Art of Noise, and the two kissed with the theme from “Chariots of Fire” playing in the background. Wedding guests danced to Motown tunes, Prince, Michael Jackson and even Madonna’s own hits like “Into the Groove.”

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, 2014

Including Kim Kardashian and Kanye West in an article about Taylor Swift’s upcoming wedding? Sacrilegeous, we know.

For those who want the full rundown, the wedding was documented in detail in the season nine finale of “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.” For the Cliffnotes version: It was an extravagant affair that screamed luxury and lavishness. Kardashian and West first hosted a rehearsal dinner at the Palace of Versailles in France before taking multiple private jets to transport them and 200 guests to a 16th-century fort in Italy with breathtaking scenic views.

The fort, which once protected the city of Florence, reportedly cost $409,000 to rent. Lana del Rey performed “Young and Beautiful” at the rehearsal dinner, Andrea Bocelli sang as Kim K walked down the aisle and John Legend crooned during the couple’s first dance.

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Published 17 minutes ago | Modified 17 minutes agoKRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020 and has a bachelor’s in English and linguistics from Columbia University. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. She is a lifelong Liverpool fan who enjoys solving crossword puzzles and hanging out at her neighborhood dive bar in NYC.

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