“Wish You Could’ve Seen Us”: Zach Bryan Pens Emotional Post-Wedding Letter To His Late Mother

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Country music superstar Zach Bryan shared quite the heartfelt message on social media late last night.

I’m sure his life has been a bit of whirlwind these past couple of weeks. Bryan technically released two albums in early January (one studio version of With Heaven On Top, and one acoustic), and then shared another, unreleased song on top of that a few days later.

And that was just a couple of weeks removed from getting married. It was first reported that Zach Bryan and Samantha Leonard were married in San Sebastian, Spain towards the end of December. The news seemed to come out of nowhere, but we all should have known that he was getting hitched when Zach posted this picture of him and his groomsmen.

The lyrics to the Black Eyed Peas’ “I’ve Got A Feeling” served as the caption for the photo:

That was the world’s first clue… then came the confirmation.

A video that was posted later showed Bryan and Leonard running out of the building they were married in Spain, with Bryan carrying his now wife for a bit before setting her down so that they could both hop into a convertible and speed away with a “Just Married” banner hanging off the back.

And though the whole event served as a joyous moment for Zach Bryan, his latest post shows that his heart has been heavy after the fact, since his late mother wasn’t there to see him get married and celebrate. Zach’s mom, Annette, passed away in 2016 at the age of 49.

The photo he shared on social media showed he and his wife making their grand exit from the wedding, but the focus of the post was Bryan taking a moment to speak to his mother:

“I reckon you’d of loved this and her. We all took an aeroplane to Spain last week and you’d of eaten it up. You’d of ordered everything twice and made sure we got your dress perfect. Everyone I love, you woulda too. There was a lot of champagne and Mac looked beautiful.”

The country star went on to say nice things about his wife and her family, and added that they sang love songs and religious hymns in a “300 year old Basilica,” which certainly sounds like every bride’s dream. Zach also added that his life feels like home now more than ever, and thanked his mother for telling him before she passed about days like this that were to come:

“If you coulda’ seen all the cheek tearing teeth smiling under the spanish moon late into the morning on New Year’s Day. Belly laughing and just eye-balling Samantha in her dress. You used to tell me about days like this on top’a red dirt. We’re a long way from Oklahoma but things resemble home more now than ever.

I think of all the moments you’ve missed often but Sam reminds me that you’re half of me of anyways. She is something special and precious. A thing you gotta’ keep once she touches your life. Makes me feel light. Makes me feel like my hearts beating easy and the days aren’t as hard as they once were. Wish you could have seen us smiling like kids when we met on that Spanish beach. She loves a man [like] only a mother could. Maybe you’re in that Spanish moon. I’ll see you soon enough, til’ then I’ll tell her you love her.”