Taylor Swift fans rally around bride who planned to sell signed guitar to pay for Bay Area wedding
TAMPA, Fla. - Taylor Swift fans came together to help a bride from the Tampa area afford her wedding after learning she planned to sell her Swift-signed guitar to pay for her big day.
Emily Harris, who's originally from Pinellas Park and now lives in Georgia, got engaged last year to the love of her life. As she began planning her wedding, however, she realized she needed to find a way to cut costs or make more money.
"Things kept kind of adding up even with trying to keep things so simple. And I had already been working on trying to sell clothes, purses, like other things that I had," Harris said.
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She made a tough decision to try to sell a Taylor Swift-signed guitar that she'd had since she turned 16. It's a gift from her dad that she'll never forget.
Emily Harris received the signed Taylor Swift guitar as a present from her dad for her 16th birthday.
"I played guitar, so I knew the shape, and I was thinking they just got me a new guitar," Harris said, adding she recalled scanning it and noticing Swift's signature at the bottom. "I just, I started crying and then that kind of became the focal piece of my bedroom growing up."
The guitar became one of her prized possessions and a part of so many of her childhood memories.
When she decided to try to sell the guitar, her dad posted about it on social media and something unexpected happened: the world of Swifties told her to keep the guitar and started a fundraising page, so they could chip in to help her pay for the wedding.
Emily Harris was going to sell her beloved Taylor Swift signed guitar to pay for her wedding.
"People were commenting, like hundreds of people, 'never sell that guitar,'" said Harris, who was hesitant to ask for help and overwhelmed by the support. "There are just true, genuine, good people in the world that want to help others just for the sake of helping others and not wanting anything in return."
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In a matter of days, she'd surpassed the fundraising goal, as donations continued to pour in.
Harris is thrilled she can keep her guitar and now plans to make it part of her wedding.
Emily Harris and her fiancé are getting married in Lutz.
"It's become such a big part of the wedding story that the guitar deserves to be front and center also," she said, adding she plans to pass the guitar on to her kids because of what it now symbolizes. "It's an amazing reminder of, you know, people being just true, genuine, kind."
Harris's wedding will take place in Lutz. She said there will be plenty of Taylor Swift music. Although she's still trying to choose a first-dance song, "Love Song" is among the tunes at the top of the list.
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