In an Instagram post shared on Jan. 21, Grammy winner Zach Bryan recapped his recent wedding to Samantha Leonard on New Year’s Eve in Spain, and used the poetic social media post to pay tribute to his late mother, Annette DeAnn, who passed away in August 2016. Bryan’s first project, DeAnn, was named after his mother.
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On Instagram, Bryan shared photos of the wedding ceremony and reception, sharing tender snapshots of himself with Leonard, as well as joyous group photos of the friends and family members in attendance. He captioned the photos with a heartfelt message to his late mother, honoring her while expressing his wish that she could have been there to experience the joy with them.
“I reckon you’d have loved this and her,” he wrote. “We all took an aeroplane to Spain last week and you’d have eaten it up. You’d have ordered everything twice and made sure we got your dress perfect. Everyone I love, you woulda too.”
He wrote of listening to love songs and religious hymns in a 300-year-old basilica and watching a string section perform Little Feat songs.
“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 anyways. She is something special and precious…a thing you gotta keep once she touches your life.” He added, “She loves a man only a mother could. Maybe you’re in that Spanish moon. I’ll see you soon enough, til’ [sic] then I’ll tell her you love her.”
Bryan has been linked with Leonard since mid-2025. In August 2025, Leonard included photos of the two fishing together in an Instagram photo carousel.
The first few weeks of 2026 have been filled with high watermarks for Bryan. He just released his new album With Heaven On Top, which debuted at No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200. The 25-song project opened with 134,000 equivalent album units earned in the United States, according to Luminate. The album also marks the second Billboard 200 chart leader for Bryan, following his 2023 self-titled album which reached the pinnacle of the Billboard 200.
