“It’s very special that there’s a fan group out there that cares so deeply,” the bride’s father said
A Taylor Swift fan made the decision to sell her signed guitar to help pay for her upcoming wedding. PHOTO:
DON ARNOLD/TAS24/GETTY; WTSP.COM
A Florida bride — and Taylor Swift superfan — made the difficult decision to sell a prized possession to pay for her upcoming wedding. But her fellow Swifties quickly rallied together to help.
Emily Harris owns a very special red guitar, given to her by her father for her 16th birthday and signed by the pop star herself, according to Inside Edition. As she began planning her November 2024 nuptials with fiancé Jacob McDaniel, she discovered just how expensive weddings are and made the heart-wrenching choice to part with her beloved guitar.
“It was very hard,” Harris, 30, told local news outlet WTSP. “But I felt like it was the responsible thing to do, you know, to try and afford everything because we’re paying for our wedding ourselves.”Emily Harris’ guitar, signed by Taylor Swift.
Harris asked her father, Randy Harris, to look into how much the guitar is worth, and he reluctantly agreed.
“He’s like, ‘I know this is something that means a lot to you. I would hate for you to sell it and then regret it later that 10 years down the line wishing that you still had it,’ ” Emmy recalled to Inside Edition.
Randy posted a message on the Taylor Swift’s Vault fan page on Facebook on Feb. 16, seeking suggestions. “My daughter is considering selling her signed guitar to help pay for her wedding, any advice/help would be greatly appreciated,” he wrote.
Randy’s post garnered hundreds of comments, with many people imploring Emily not to sell her “priceless” collector’s item. “Omg! Weddings/marriages come and go but Taylor Swift is forever,” one person wrote.
Some fans suggested that Emily and her fiancé instead scale back on their wedding plans to trim their budget. Others advised the father and daughter to start a GoFundMe.
“Honestly drop a GoFundMe for the wedding! I’d be happy to chip in a little so she gets to have the wedding she wants while not having to sacrifice such a treasure!” a fan commented.
The Harrises took the advice and created a fundraising page. “I was going to sell my signed Taylor Swift guitar to help pay for my upcoming wedding. However, some very nice and hardcore Swifties are against the sale, and asked us to start this GoFundMe instead,” Emily wrote, sharing several photos of the red guitar.
“This is a very, very kind suggestion and we will definitely pay it forward when we can,” she added.
So far, fans have donated more than $1,600 for Emily and McDaniel’s wedding fund.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“I’ve been speechless, really,” Emily told WTSP of the Swifties’ generosity. “I feel like this is a reminder that there are good people in this world. There is just genuine good in this world.” Taylor Swift performs in 2023.
KEVIN WINTER/GETTY IMAGES FOR TAS RIGHTS MANAGEMENT
Emily’s fiancé is also blown away by the fans’ kindness and willingness to help a complete stranger.
“I do think it’s very special that there’s a fan group out there that cares so deeply about the memorabilia that exists for this artist that they’re willing to start a GoFundMe page,” McDaniel told Inside Edition.
“I collect sports memorabilia and I can guarantee you that if somebody had something from Patrick Mahomes or Peyton Manning, they be the first people saying, ‘I’ll buy it off you for whatever amount you want,’ ” he continued. “They wouldn’t be trying to make it where you could keep something so valuable and so meaningful.”
For Emily, the Swifties’ support is a testament to the amazing community that Swift, 34, has created through her music and concert experiences.
“You know, we’re friends now. We’re Swifties, we’re buddies,” she said of Swift’s millions-strong fan base. “It’s worldwide that people are so connected because of one person that, you know, you don’t know this person. But we have this in common.”