Yahoo Finance Luke Bryan Reveals Story Behind Wedding Pic of Him and Wife Caroline 'Squeezing Each Other's Butts'
Courtesy of the Bryans Luke and Caroline Bryan in 2006
Luke Bryan and wife Caroline have "got a grip" on married life, 16 years in.
Speaking to PEOPLE from Mexico, where he was headlining his annual Crash My Playa music festival in late January, the country star reminisced about the couple's favorite memories from their 2006 wedding.
"We got married in Turks and Caicos. It was a really small wedding — just close family and friends," Bryan, 46, told PEOPLE about the big day.
"There's a photo of Caroline and me walking down the beach squeezing each other's butts that we love. It's our same personalities we have today — just so goofy."
He added, "Whenever we look at our wedding album, that one always makes us laugh — it was and still is pretty funny. Great memory."
Bryan also revealed that despite appearances, actually walking down the aisle that December day wasn't guaranteed.
"I tried to windsurf and I threw my back out," the American Idol judge admitted. "I had to go to a chiropractor and take a muscle relaxer to stop my back from freaking out!"
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Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic Luke and Caroline Bryan
He and Caroline, who first met at a bar during their college days, celebrated their "sweet 16" anniversary in December. They're parents to sons Bo, 14, and Tate, 12, and also helped raised Bryan's nephew Til and nieces Jordan and Kris after the sudden deaths of his sister Kelli and brother-in-law Lee Cheshire in 2007 and 2014, respectively.
"We went through the learning curve of what it's like to go try to tackle this industry — we know the ups and downs and the tricky parts. And now we've settled into really enjoying all of the work it took to get to a comfortable place," Bryan explained to PEOPLE. "We know we've done our best in life and love and marriage, raising kids and helping with my sister and her husband's children. So now it's just about segueing into the kids growing up. They can brush their own teeth and feed themselves!"
"Now we can branch off and Caroline can go have her own fun with her brand [Best Bad Influence]," he continued before joking that his wife, 43, is still always available for any career advice he may need.
"Anytime I do something on stage that might get a little outside my realm, she'll always check me and put me back in my place — she says, 'God, I wouldn't do that anymore — you look kinda stupid.'"
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In 2018, the "Country On" singer explained that he and Caroline dated on and off again throughout college before going their separate ways after he graduated.
"We were apart for 5½ years, which was kind of a blessing because I went off to Nashville, got all this going," Bryan said at the time. "She finished college. She went and actually had a career."
"When we got married, her career supported me when I was making about $10,000 a year," he added. "She was the one bringing in the dough."
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In 2014, Caroline spilled about the romance — which started when they were attending Georgia Southern University — to PEOPLE.
"He was always a gentleman," she said. "We hung out as friends first and he never made a move on me. I kissed him first! He was always so scared of making a girl feel uncomfortable, he wouldn't cross a line."
"In college, we used to go dancing in a club til 4 a.m., and he's just as silly at home as he is on stage," Caroline revealed. "He walks around dancing all day, just being goofy."
For more favorite wedding memories, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands now.
