Wedding celebrations for Taylor Swift and her fiancé, NFL star Travis Kelce, have officially begun in New York City, with an intimate pre-wedding gathering at Madison Square Garden (MSG) on Thursday evening ahead of a larger celebration scheduled for Friday, July 2.According to the BBC, high-profile friends, including actress Lena Dunham and music producer Jack Antonoff, were seen arriving at the iconic arena in formal attire this video also shared by Multiple X handles, who were following the high-profile weddings for weeks. Aerial footage showed a convoy of black SUVs pulling beneath a white canopy as around 100 guests attended what officials described as a rehearsal dinner.— moorehn (@moorehn) The Associated Press (AP) reported that the couple's wedding festivities will culminate on Friday evening, with celebrations expected to continue into the early hours of Saturday. A city permit obtained by the news agency shows the event will begin at 5 p.m. on Friday, with road closures affecting several blocks around Madison Square Garden during the busy holiday weekend.The permit, approved Wednesday night by New York City's permitting office, describes Thursday's gathering as a "pre party celebration" before a larger event expected to host nearly 1,000 guests. The news agency also confirmed that the celebrations are planned as a three-day affair running from July 2 to July 4.Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding venue is unlike any otherWhile Madison Square Garden has hosted everything from championship boxing matches and NBA Finals to sold-out concerts, weddings at the legendary arena are extraordinarily rare. If Swift and Kelce proceed with their celebration there, they would become only the third known couple to marry at the venue.Sly Stone and Kathy Silva: A MSG wedding in front of 23,000 fansThe first known wedding at Madison Square Garden took place in 1974, when musician Sly Stone married model Kathy Silva during one of his concerts. According to The New York Times, the ceremony unfolded in front of a staggering 23,000 fans, with the couple exchanging vows alongside their four parents before the packed arena. Following the public ceremony, a more traditional private reception for about 400 guests was held at the Waldorf-Astoria. The event remains one of the most unusual celebrity weddings ever staged inside a major sports and entertainment arena.The 1982 mass wedding of 2,075 couples at MSGThe second known wedding event at Madison Square Garden came in 1982, when Rev. Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unification Church, officiated a mass wedding involving 2,075 couples. Often referred to as the "Moonies" by critics, the church organized the ceremony on the arena floor, where thousands of brides in identical white gowns and grooms in matching blue suits were married simultaneously. According to The New York Times, the venue was transformed with an all-white carpet for the occasion. Hosting a wedding at MSG comes with a staggering price tagHolding a private wedding at Madison Square Garden is not only exceptionally rare, but it is also extraordinarily expensive. Speaking to Today.com, Ashley Smith, owner and creative director of luxury planning and design company Ashley Smith Events, and Alyssa Pettinato, founder of New York-based luxury wedding planning and event design firm Alinato Events, estimated that single-day rental fees for the Garden range from more than $1 million to $2 million.For a multi-day celebration such as the one reportedly planned for Swift and Kelce, venue costs alone could total between $8 million and $10 million. Decor represents an even bigger expense. Pettinato noted that the vast interior of Madison Square Garden requires an extensive transformation for a luxury wedding, with both experts estimating that floral installations, staging, lighting, and décor could approach $20 million. Catering, entertainment, logistics, and security would add several million dollars more, making it one of the costliest celebrity wedding venues imaginable.If it goes according to the plan, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's reported wedding is poised to become another landmark moment in Madison Square Garden's history, an arena where saying "I do" has always been far rarer than winning a championship or selling out a concert.