Nelly and Ashanti have attended their share of legendary parties, but even they were floored by what Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce pulled off. Appearing together on the October 21 segment of Good Day New York, the couple looked back on the July 3 wedding at Madison Square Garden — and Ashanti’s description of the room has already become the quote of the week.
“It was amazing!” Ashanti, 46, raved. “It looked so beautiful inside, like it was like a real garden. Like, it was so magical. It was beautiful.” Nelly, 51, kept his review shorter but no less warm: “It was great.” As wedding guests go, the pair had one of the best seats in the house for what was easily the most star-studded celebration of the summer.
Nelly gave his own verdict within hours of the ceremony. In a video posted to Instagram — himself in an all-white suit, Ashanti glowing beside him in a sparkling gown — he called the wedding “incredible,” a one-word review that instantly went viral. It was a rare unguarded moment from a veteran who has seen everything the music industry can stage, and it set the tone for every guest account that followed: this was not just another celebrity event, it was a genuine spectacle.
A Garden Inside the Garden
The wedding’s signature trick — building a lush, living garden wedding inside one of the world’s most famous arenas — left guests stunned. Reports from the night described a full outdoor-garden illusion constructed within Madison Square Garden, complete with the kind of floral abundance that made the massive venue feel intimate. For Ashanti, the transformation was the whole story: a concrete arena turned into something out of a fairy tale, with a thousand of music and sports’ biggest names wandering through it.
(reeb0k2008 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0))The couple was in New York promoting the second season of their Peacock reality series, Nelly & Ashanti: We Belong Together, which premieres November 19. The timing gave their appearance a double purpose: tease the new season, and dish on the wedding everyone is still talking about three months later. They delivered on both.
Who Sang — and Who Didn’t
One of the night’s worst-kept secrets was the impromptu concert. Paul McCartney, Stevie Nicks and even Kelce himself all sang at the celebration, turning the reception into a once-in-a-lifetime jam session. Nelly and Ashanti, despite being two of R&B and hip-hop’s most beloved voices, confirmed they stayed in the audience. “Many celebrities sang at the wedding — including Paul McCartney, Stevie Nicks and even Kelce — but Nelly and Ashanti said they didn’t perform,” as the coverage noted. Some nights, even superstars are happy to just watch.
(Mshake3 at English Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain))That said, Nelly’s history with the bride runs deep. “We’ve done some performances and things like that. She’s popped out and sung ‘Dilemma‘ a couple times, and I’ve popped out on her show a few times,” he said, describing a friendship that stretches back years. “She’s been great, man. Her and her whole family, and her management team.”
The Bigger Swiftie Question
The segment’s most charming moment came when the hosts pressed the couple on the important issue: which one of them is the bigger Swiftie? Nelly claimed the title, and Ashanti — who calls the pop star “Tay Tay” — conceded the point with a grin. “I love Tay Tay,” she said. “I call her Tay Tay, you know. But he’s known her longer.” She was quick to add that she is still “definitely a Swiftie” herself.
(Adam Bielawski / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0))Nelly also gave the groom his flowers: “Travis is a cool guy too. And he’s big, so.” It was a typically understated seal of approval from a man not easily impressed.
The scale of the night is still hard to process. Roughly a thousand guests filled the Garden, from Swift’s inner circle — Selena Gomez, Ed Sheeran, Gigi Hadid — to Hollywood heavyweights like Hugh Grant and Bradley Cooper, plus Kelce’s Chiefs teammates and coach Andy Reid. Comedian Adam Sandler officiated, and the couple read self-written vows from little books they carried, described by guests as long, personal, funny and deeply emotional. For one night, the world’s most famous arena belonged entirely to two people and the thousand guests who love them most.
The couple, who married in 2023 and share 2-year-old son Kareem, even gave fans a preview of their wedding-night dynamic in the season 2 trailer — bickering in the car over a forgotten bottle of lotion on the way to the ceremony. Magical garden or not, some vows come with very relatable arguments attached.
Their Good Day New York appearance was technically a press stop for Nelly & Ashanti: We Belong Together, whose second season premieres November 19 on Peacock — but the wedding stories nearly stole the segment. The October 15 trailer had already teased the couple’s relatable pre-ceremony chaos, and the hosts were clearly as interested in the garden inside Madison Square Garden as in the new episodes. Nelly and Ashanti obliged happily, proving once again that they are naturals at turning a promotional appearance into must-watch television.