Selena Gomez launched her wedding weekend with a lavish rehearsal dinner - with her close friend Taylor Swift arriving in a convoy of three SUVs

Her rehearsal dinner took place on Friday night at a 10-bedroom mansion built in the 1930s, owned by insurance ex ecutive Greg Econn.

Guests including Selena's Only Murders in the Building co-stars Martin Short and Steve Martin, as well as Paul Rudd, were chauffeured to the property in a fleet of Mercedes buses.

Taylor, who is staying at the Rosewood Miramar resort in Montecito, was brought separately in a motorcade.

Photos published by the Daily Mail showed the sprawling seven-acre property decorated with tubs of flowers and strings of fairy lights ahead of the main ceremony, which will take place at Sea Crest Nursery in Goleta.

Security has been intensified, with reports Selena is spending around $300,000 to safeguard the weekend.

A source quoted by the Daily Mail said Taylor had flown in from Kansas City earlier in the day on Friday, travelling without her fiancé, American football star Travis Kelce, 35, who is preparing for the Kansas City Chiefs' game against the Baltimore Ravens.

Taylor, who once promised Selena she would act as her flower girl, has been a longtime friend of the singer and will be among the 170 guests at the nuptials.

Most of the wedding party are staying at El Encanto, a Santa Barbara resort owned by Tinder co-founder Justin Mateen, where rooms start at $1,000 per night.

Other attendees include Paris Hilton.

Before heading to the rehearsal dinner, Steve Martin, Martin Short and Paul Rudd were seen socialising at El Encanto.

Steve co-created Only Murders in the Building, which has run for five seasons and features Selena and Martin in lead roles, with Paul guest-starring in recent seasons.

Selena and Benny confirmed their engagement in December last year with an Instagram post captioned: "Forever begins now."

The singer also displayed her marquise-cut diamond ring in accompanying photographs.

The couple, who first collaborated in 2019 on the track I Can't Get Enough, grew closer during work on Selena's 2023 hit Single Soon.

They later made their red-carpet debut at the 2023 Emmy awards.

In February this year, Benny told Apple Music's Zane Lowe about his relationship with Selena: "I'd have to say overall it's the safest that I feel and it's been really lovely and I've only grown through it, so it's awesome."