Eric Stonestreet says Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce did not deserve the criticism that followed their decision to hold their wedding at Madison Square Garden, and he believes the venue made sense for one simple reason: privacy.
Speaking in an interview published by on Wednesday, July 15, the 54-year-old actor and Kansas City Chiefs fan defended the choice after the couple held their July 3 Madison Square Garden ceremony. Stonestreet said the reaction surprised him at first, adding that he and Lindsay Schweitzer were initially unsure the invitation was real.
“We were very excited. We thought it was spam, like everybody else,” Stonestreet said. He added that when the invitation arrived, the couple was careful because they could not verify it with anyone. “We just had to trust it was real because I wasn't breaking any rules, and Lindsay wasn't either,” he said.
Why Madison Square Garden worked
Stonestreet pushed back on the criticism aimed at the venue, saying the arena offered a level of protection that most places cannot match. He pointed to Madison Square Garden's private corridors, service tunnels, loading docks, restricted-access entrances, VIP arrival and departure routes, and its existing security checkpoints, credential systems and crowd-management infrastructure.
“They've gotten so much crap for doing it at Madison Square Garden,” he said. “Show me another place where they could have a private moment like anybody else would deserve to have at a wedding, where they don't have helicopters and hot air balloons and dirigibles floating over them trying to get video.”
In Stonestreet's view, Swift and Kelce “did what they had to do.” He said the night felt both extraordinary and grounded, which is part of why he appreciated being there. “I think that Travis and Taylor created a night for themselves and their guests that was special and unique in only the way they could,” he said. “Lindsay and I were both struck by how fantastical it was. Still, also how normal it was.”
That balance, he said, is what made the ceremony stand out. “We just felt like they created a night that felt normal in these extraordinary situations. We were just happy for them,” Stonestreet said.
A celebration three years in the making
Stonestreet also reflected on his relationship with Kelce, saying, “We've known Travis for a while. He's great to our boys. He's great to my mom. He's great to my sister. When they started dating, I was just so excited for him.”
Swift and Kelce began dating three years ago, and Stonestreet said seeing the wedding felt like the closing punctuation on that relationship. “They're perfect for each other, and just to be there and witness it and see the period to that sentence that started three years ago was just awesome,” he said.
The couple has shared only a few details about the nuptials and has not released photos. One confirmed detail is that their attire was Christian Dior Haute Couture designed by Jonathan Anderson. For fans tracking every update around Swift and Kelce, the ceremony remains a tightly controlled event, which is exactly the kind of setting Stonestreet says made sense.
And if his defense of the venue sounded unusually practical, that fit the moment too. The point, as he sees it, was not spectacle. It was giving Swift and Kelce one private night that looked and felt like a wedding, even if it happened inside one of the most recognizable buildings in New York City.
