What Are the Odds and Relations?

As brands and media continue to latch onto Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s engagement to bolster traffic in these waning days of summer, online bookies and genealogists are jumping into the fray too.

More than 24 hours after the news broke, some Swifties were still dissecting Wednesday just how many hydrangea, Secret Garden roses, delphinium and pink surprise lilies surrounded Swift in the Instagrammable grounds on Kelce’s Lee’s Summit, Mo., property. Meanwhile, a public relations firm for Walmart was pitching a “look-for-less” copycat outfit of what the 35-year-old bride-to-be was wearing for her life-changing photo-op.

For the record, the 14-time Grammy winner sported a $400 black and white partial silk striped dress from Ralph Lauren. (Her three-time Super Bowl winning fiancé was decked out by the American designer too.) As of Wednesday, “Taylor Swift engagement dress” was the top-trending dress search in the U.S. and “Taylor Swift engagement ring” was the top-trending shopping search globally over the past day, according to Google Trends.

But the Bentonville, Ark.-based big-box store’s Swift-inspired option retails for $14. Its name on Walmart’s site seems to be an AI-generated moniker — the “Vigerkar Women Striped Sleeveless Maxi Dress Swing Aline Midi Dress Backless Smocked Spaghetti Strap Boho Flowy Sundress.” Walmart’s $60 Franco Sarto’s low block-heeled sandals in cognac brown were considerably less than the Louis Vuitton pair that Swift wore Tuesday.

Engagement attire aside, Swift’s wedding plans — and her sizable Midas effect on brands — could bode well for the wedding gown business, which was estimated to be $82.42 billion last year and is projected to reach $109.93 billion by 2030. With an estimated net worth of $1.6 billion, the 35-year-old’s celebration is likely to be a splurge.

Wedding planning is sure to get a boost too. VegasInsider released odds for a potential locale for the power couple’s wedding with the 14-time Grammy winner’s sprawling manse in Watch Hill, R.I. topping the list with odds of +275 (11/4). In 2013, the pop star shelled out nearly $18 million for the eight-bedroom, 10-bathroom estate. For a stretch, that is where Blake Lively, Gigi Hadid, Karlie Kloss and other friends of Swift gathered for Fourth of July parties that were complete with a gigantic inflatable red, white and blue water slide.

The celebrity-friendly Lake Como, where Nina Agdal and Logan Paul had their nuptials earlier this month, had odds of +500 or 5/1. Ranking third was the Ocean House in Westerly, R.I., which is a short hop to Swift’s aforementioned waterfront manse. The resort’s Ocean & Harvest Spa, which has a saltwater lap pool despite being steps from the Atlantic Ocean, was in the mix for one of the best hotel spas based on USA Today’s recent Readers’ Choice Awards.  

Two venues in Nashville, where “The Life of a Showgirl” musician owns property, had odds of 13/1 — The Parthenon, a replica of the actual one in Athens, and the 55-acre Cheekwood Estate & Gardens. Chiefs fans may be pulling for five Kansas City sites that are listed — the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Union Station, Arrowhead Stadium, Lowes Kansas City Hotel/1587 Prime and the Kansas City Public Library. Swift’s hometown finished ninth with Pine Ridge Farm having odds of 25/1.

History buffs might be interested in MyHeritage’s report that Swift is an eighth cousin 11 times removed of the “Sun King” Louis XIV and Kelce is the eighth cousin 11 times removed of King George I of Great Britain. Their common ancestors were Michael de la Pole, 2nd Earl of Suffolk, and his wife Katherine Stafford, English nobles of the 14th century. De la Pole supported Henry IV against Richard II.

Swift’s ancestors later left England for the American colonies, settling first in Massachusetts in the 17th century before moving to Pennsylvania, according to MyHeritage’s research. Louis XIV’s line comes through Margaret de la Pole, who married a count of Béarn in 15th-century France. Her descendants included Marie de’ Medici, grandmother of the French king.

Louis XIV, whose vision led to the palace of Versailles, wanted his reign to be known for its artistic brilliance. He believed that musicians, poets, painters, sculptors, and architects could preserve his great deeds for posterity, according to Robert M. Isherwood’s “Music in the Service of the King: France in the Seventeenth Century.”