Country crooner Blake Shelton and pop star Gwen Stefani got married on July 3, 2021 and at the request of their officiant, Carson Daly, wrote their own vows to each other.
Shelton revealed that in place of traditional vows, he wrote his new bride a song. That song, titled “We Can Reach the Stars,” was co-written by Craig Wiseman and released earlier this month.
“I reached out to my buddy Craig Wiseman, who is a world-class songwriter, to help me write and structure something that would stand the test of time,” Shelton said in a statement. “I’m really proud of ‘We Can Reach the Stars’ and I’m really honored to be with her. That’s why we got married in the first place. That’s why we wear rings…because we want everyone to know. I’m thrilled to share this song with the world.”
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In an interview with PEOPLE a few months after the wedding, Blake Shelton shared details about Gwen’s vows to him. While they didn’t come in the form of a song, they did come from Gwen’s heart and touched Shelton so deeply that he said he will never forget how they made him feel.
“The thing that got to me was she spoke about my [late] brother and my dad as if she had known them almost,” Shelton explained to PEOPLE. “She didn’t make it seem that way, but it felt that way as she was speaking about them. She said she wished they were there and what kind of men she thinks they must’ve been. Man, it hit me. Like, I couldn’t believe how hard it hit me.”
Shelton was just 14-years-old when his brother, Richie, died in a tragic car accident at 24-years-old. Blake told Cowboys & Indians in 2018 that Richie’s death left a void in his world.
“Look, you’re never gonna get over it,” Blake said. “For me, my brother was my big brother. I mean, I wanted to be him. I wanted to look like him, dress like him, listen to what he listened to and be into the things he was into. So when he was killed in a car accident, it was literally like the world went silent. There was a void in my world all of a sudden, and I’m still not over it. I’m just used to it.”
In 2012, Blake lost his dad, Richard Lee Shelton, after he had been hospitalized with pneumonia. Gwen’s special words honoring two important men in Blake’s life during their wedding ceremony had a profound impact on the country singer who told PEOPLE that he thought he had become calloused, but realized he wasn’t when she spoke about Richie and his dad.
“I felt like at this point, I’ve kind of gotten calloused. I guess I’m not because that absolutely slayed me. It’s hard to even remember what else she even said. I’ll never forget that feeling,” Blake said.
Hear the song that Blake wrote in place of wedding vows for Gwen below.