Taylor Swift arrives in Santa Barbara to honor flower girl promise for Selena Gomez wedding

Taylor Swift arrived in Santa Barbara on Friday to honor a promise she made when Selena Gomez announced her engagement—to be the flower girl at Gomez’s wedding.

The 35-year-old singer touched down in the afternoon, flying in from Kansas City just after 1:30 p.m. local time. She was photographed exiting her private plane in a black short-sleeve top, carrying a black bag, as security personnel unloaded a few small bags, a garment bag and a white box. Swift’s three-car convoy then rolled out of the tiny airport and toward Montecito, the celebrity enclave north of Santa Barbara, on the way to the Rosewood Miramar, a luxury resort that has become a magnet for high-profile guests.

Swift will be spending the weekend solo, with fiancé Travis Kelce unable to join as his Kansas City Chiefs prepare to face the Baltimore Ravens at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday. Still, the pop star is expected to participate in Gomez and Benny Blanco’s wedding festivities, which are described as a high-profile celebration in a private Goleta setting.

The couple’s nuptials are scheduled to begin with a Friday night rehearsal dinner, followed by a main ceremony set for Saturday in a secluded garden on a 17-acre Goleta estate. The venue, which features white marquees nestled among palm trees and cycads, is being prepared to host a guest list of roughly 300 people. Security has been a prominent feature of the weekend, with Gomez thought to be contributing around $300,000 to safeguard the event and its attendees.

Most guests are being housed at the El Encanto luxury resort in Santa Barbara and will be bused to the Goleta property for the festivities. The star-studded weekend has drawn a roster of attendees and notable locals, including hotel heiress Paris Hilton and Gomez’s frequent collaborators Martin Short and Steve Martin from the show “Only Murders in the Building.”

Gomez and Blanco, a long-time record producer and Gomez’s fiancé, announced their engagement in December 2024 after more than a year and a half of dating. Blanco proposed with a ring valued at an estimated $1 million. The couple has kept many details private, but the guest list and security measures for the ceremony reflect the couple’s desire for privacy amid the star-studded guest roster.

The venue’s celebrity pedigree and its proximity to both the Pacific coastline and the region’s luxury scene have heightened interest in the weekend’s events. The spectacle is set against a backdrop of Goleta’s quiet countryside, contrasting with the couple’s public profiles in the music and film worlds. Gomez has previously teased light-hearted moments about the wedding, including joking that “Marty’s the ring bearer,” a nod to Martin Short.

As Swift’s arrival signals, this weekend’s ceremony is poised to be a landmark cultural moment in Southern California, combining A-list entertainment with a setting chosen for privacy and scenic beauty. While details remain closely held, the public will likely see snapshots of the celebrations as guests arrive and depart the private estate, framed by the region’s iconic beaches and luxury hospitality landscape.