While hundreds of celebrity guests gathered for Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding, one famous name was noticeably absent, James Taylor.
He did not attend Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding, even though he was invited.
During his annual Independence Day weekend show with his All-Star Band at the Koussevitzky Music Shed at Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts, Taylor told the crowd he had received an invite but didn’t go. “You know, Kim and I were invited to a wedding at Madison Square Garden tonight,” Taylor, 78, said, referring to Swift and Kelce’s star-studded wedding, according to The Berkshire Eagle.
He then wished the newlyweds well, hoping for “happiness and smooth sailing.”
Why he skipped the big day?
According to the Parade, the performance at Tanglewood is an annual event for Taylor and his band, which seems to be the reason he turned down Swift’s invite instead of attending the wedding in New York City.
Taylor and Swift share a special connection, as Swift once revealed she was named after him. In a 2024 interview with USA Today, Taylor recalled meeting Swift for the first time about “15-16 years ago.” “We did a benefit for the Candie’s Foundation, an organization that tries to help with teenage pregnancy, and it was interesting,” he said.
“We were both there with guitars and played a couple of songs. I was performing with my wife and may have had a friend of ours playing cello and Taylor was there just playing by herself.”
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“She was just a teen,” he said. “She told me she had listened to my music a lot and that her folks had named her with me in mind.”
Swift also mentions him in the lyrics of “Begin Again,” the closing track on her 2012 album Red, as per People.
Taylor wasn’t the only big name missing from the wedding. According to Us Weekly, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds reportedly were not invited following Swift and Lively’s rumored falling out. Harry Styles and his fiancée Zoe Kravitz were also unable to attend because he was performing at London’s Wembley Stadium on his Together, Together tour.
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Adam Sandler’s advise to the newlywed couple
Swift and Kelce tied the knot on Friday, July 3, at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, with roughly 1,000 guests in attendance, including officiant Adam Sandler.
Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid later revealed Adam Sandler’s simple marriage advice to the couple during the ceremony. “Adam Sandler conducted the service there, and he told them to ‘keep kissing.’ In its simplest form. That’s a good thing,” Reid said, as per Parade. “It’s hard to argue when you give your wife a kiss or your wife gives you a kiss… And make sure you do it every day, every minute that you have an opportunity to. Knock it out, and you won’t have any problems.”