Summary:
- Taylor Swift and other celebrities visited Long Beach Island, creating a buzz among residents and fans.
- Taylor Swift attended the wedding of music producer Jack Antonoff and actress Margaret Qualey in Beach Haven.
- Thousands of teens gathered on Center Street in hopes of catching a glimpse of Taylor Swift.
- Despite the celebrity sightings, the local restaurants and area ownership remained quiet.
- Residents express amazement at the choice of Long Beach Island as a wedding destination.
Well, LBI is still abuzz after multiple celebrities including Taylor Swift were spotted in Beach Haven over the weekend. The superstar singer was in town for the wedding of music producer Jack Antonoff and actress Margaret Qualey. CBS News Philadelphia South Jersey reporter Brandon Goldner spoke to some of the thousands hoping to catch a glimpse of Taylor Swift.
Center Street in Beach Haven became the center of attention in the entertainment world last weekend. After Taylor Swift was spotted swiftly entering the Black Whale Friday night, Ruth Hawthorne got a brief glimpse of Swift from a distance and shot this cellphone video of what she estimates were thousands of teens trying to spot the singer. Now the blank space in sight. It was very exciting, unexpected. I thought it was a rumor of Taylor Swift coming to town but she was here in our backyard, literally our backyard. Anthony Cirillo's yard is across from the restaurant and while he didn't get a glimpse of Swift, never in his wildest dreams could he imagine how quickly teens from all over LBI converged onto Center Street. Once the Taylor sighting got public, you know, news spreads fast and cars were backing up and kids were piling up everywhere. Swift, along with actors Channing Tatum and Zoe Kravitz, were in town for the wedding of music producer Jack Antonoff and actress Margaret Quali. The celebrities also celebrated the couple's love story at Parker's Garage and Bird and Beddy's. While Center Street is now once again quiet, so too is the ownership group of the three restaurants. They haven't answered our request for an interview, though Hawthorne says LBI shouldn't stay quiet about its big reputation. They could get married anywhere in the world. These people and they picked LBI. So to me that was my amazement was when you can do anything anywhere and they chose to do it here, we're pretty lucky. We're in a special spot. An enchanted feeling LBI won't shake it off anytime soon. Brandon Goldner, CBS News, Philadelphia.