René Hurtado always knew that Taylor Swift would play a role in her wedding ceremony somehow. She had been a Swiftie for years, and after she got engaged to her partner Max Bochman, she was planning a way to make her favorite artist a part of her nuptials.
At first, she thought, why not elope before the concert and call the concert her “reception”? But a friend suggested the crazy idea: Why not get married at the show? So she did exactly that — over the weekend, Hurtado and Bochman officially tied the knot while standing front row at Taylor Swift’s second show in Glendale, Arizona.
“It was really thrilling and exciting. I’m so glad that we did it,” she tells Rolling Stone. “It was really special, and the timing during the concert was so beautiful.”
The couple shared their vows and a kiss during Swift’s interluding “Seven” poem, which plays prior to the singer taking the stage for “Invisible String.” The track is “a very special song” to the pair. Officiating the wedding was Hurtado’s maid of honor who got ordained for the special moment.
“We pretty much had the best seat in the house,” she says, adding that they paid about $1,000 for each of their front-row tickets. “It was a really wonderful experience,” she says. “Our section was so supportive and sweet to us when they saw what we were doing.”
The bride says she was trying to focus on helping her partner not be nervous since “he really doesn’t like attention of any sort,” as they both attempted to hear her bestie officiate the wedding as the crowd around them recorded. As for herself, “anyone who knows me wasn’t surprised I wanted to do this. I’m never normal, I’m always dramatic,” she said in a TikTok video.
Hurtado says a member of Swift’s tour team approached the couple after the sweet moment and gave her a guitar pick to commemorate the occasion. Though they haven’t connected with Swift, she “liked” a video capturing the engagement on TikTok.
“She definitely is my whole life. Any Swiftie would understand the need and want to incorporate Taylor Swift in your marriage,” she says. “She has the best love songs that you dedicate to your spouse. She really is my life soundtrack and is very important to me.”
Hurtado says she and her husband have been together for nearly nine years and got engaged a year and a half ago. They’re both Folklore stans, with the groom’s favorite song being “The 1” and her favorite track being “My Tears Ricochet.”
The couple’s “real” wedding reception is slated for March 2024, where they plan to take on a hip-hop theme. However, Hurtado is planning to walk down the aisle to “Invisible String” and arrive at their reception with Reputation‘s “Don’t Blame Me” playing in the background.
“Taylor Swift will be present in some form at our reception,” she says with a laugh.
In one video of the ceremony, the couple was captured holding hands as the maid of honor officiated the ceremony. The pair then shared a kiss as the crowd erupted in claps in cheers. The clip now has more than 400,000 likes, including from Swift.
“Y’all witnessed a proposal night 1… I witnessed an actual MARRIAGE,” the video capturing the moment read. “Congrats to the married couple 😭 so 😭 happy😭 for you😭😭😭😭.”
“Our bestie got married at the concert?!!????” one of the couple’s friends captioned a different video.
Hurtado’s wedding at the Eras tour is a sweet twist after some to-be brides shared that they were considering canceling their nuptials due to Swift’s tour stops in their cities.
“Taylor Swift is finally going on tour,” said one woman on TikTok. “But I live in Seattle, and that’s my wedding day… Come on. What are the chances of that?” Her caption read, “Sooo do I cancel my wedding or..??”
On private Facebook bridal group forums, women posted their dismay at the prospect of a local Swift show eclipsing their special day. “She’ll be in my city on my wedding day,” wrote a member of a page called Brides to Be 2023. “Now I’m more concerned about parking and hotels for my guests.” Another commented, “She’s here on my wedding day but I might be the only one that doesn’t care, personally. I feel bad for my guests.” A third noted that “even my wedding party is secretly bummed.”