6 Places in Pittsburgh to Get Your Own Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Proposal Photos
From the Pittsburgh Botanic Gardens to the National Aviary, the region has scenic spots that may even top the power couple’s flowery outdoor engagement setting.
PHOTO BY DAVE DICELLO
Where were you when you first heard the news that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are engaged?
On Tuesday, the pro footballer and pop superstar broke the Internet when they announced in a widely shared Instagram post that they are betrothed.
Captioned “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married” followed by a dynamite emoji (T and T — get it?), the joint post on Swift and Kelce’s accounts had more than 30 million likes as of Wednesday.
The announcement also was accompanied by a carousel of engagement photos that featured Kelce down on one knee before Swift in a lush garden filled with roses, hydrangeas and other florals in romantic shades of pink and cream.
Above the couple is an arched, rose-covered trellis; large-scale stone vases overflowing with even more aesthetic flowers flank them on both sides.
“It’s simple elegance, not too ostentatious,” wedding florist Nicola Paul told the BBC. “It’s been staged in the woods, so you get that lush greenery look.”
Kelce allegedly transformed the backyard of his Kansas City home into a magical secret garden for the proposal, but if any Pittsburghers are considering popping the question in a similar vein, there are a number of enchanting locations around Pittsburgh that give equally dreamlike vibes.
As for the 8-carat Old Mine Brilliant Cut diamond, estimated to be worth $550,000, that Kelce placed on Swift’s finger, you’re on your own there.
Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens
This one is a no brainer.
Set on 5 acres in Schenley Park, the 14-room glasshouse has 23 district gardens, each bursting with colorful flowers and other foliage. Built in 1893, the Victorian greenhouse, of course, has a number of gorgeous locations perfect for engagement photos, particularly the formal French garden in the Broderie Room and the romantic, estate-style Outdoor Gardens.
Home to more than 500 birds and other animals, Pittsburgh’s National Aviary on the North Side is another lovely location for an engagement to take flight.
Shortly after Swift and Kelce announced their engagement on Aug. 26, the aviary got in on the trend of companies and venues making memes about the couple’s impending marriage with a social media post that featured a cutout of the couple on the aviary’s grounds.
“Travis, our Rose Garden was also an option,” the caption on Instagram read.
Another obvious place for a flower power proposal is the Pittsburgh Botanic Garden in Oakdale.
The venue houses 65 acres of cultivated gardens, woodlands and walking trails that rival the setup in Kelce’s backyard for beauty.
Among the many aesthetically pleasing backdrops are rustic stone walls, a romantic wrought iron gazebo and an arched wooden bridge over a serene pond.
The Frick Pittsburgh Museums & Gardens
Who wouldn’t feel like a princess getting engaged in front of Clayton, Henry Clay Frick’s century-old former mansion?
The French Chateau-style building is surrounded by 10 scenic acres lined with lush gardens and a diverse selection of trees that mimic the setting of Kelce’s proposal to Swift.
For more photo ops, check out the center’s car and carriage museum as well as the vintage-style greenhouse, which is a reconstruction of the one that served the Frick family from 1897 through the 1970s.
Pittsburgh’s largest historic regional park features numerous amenities, including an environmental center, tennis courts, baseball fields and the iconic Blue Slide Playground — but perhaps the most picture-perfect spot for a proposal in the park’s sprawling 644 acres is the Reynolds Street Gatehouse.
Built more than 70 years ago, the stone arched gatehouse resembles something out of a fairytale, echoing a line from one of Swift’s most famous songs, “Today Was a Fairytale.”
First conceived in 1868 as a pastoral addition to Allegheny Commons, peaceful Lake Elizabeth on the North Side makes a very Instagramable spot for engagement photos.
The picturesque pond also includes pedestrian walking bridges over the water that come with a view of Downtown’s recognizable skyline in the background.
We’re not sure if even Kelce and Swift’s engagement setting can top that!