Congratulations to Shane McAnally: The award-winning country songwriter has legally married his longtime partner, Michael McAnally Baum.

McAnally and his husband unofficially tied the knot in September of 2012 in Mexico; however, as the tunesmith writes on Instagram, "while we were forever bound in our hearts, we were not legally bound by law because our government didn't recognize our union at that time."

On Friday (Jan. 20), McAnally and Baum, make their marriage official in the eyes of the U.S. government. In his Instagram post -- which shows McAnally and Baum along with son Dash and daughter Dylan smiling and all clasping their hands together -- McAnally thanks Nashville Mayor Megan Barry "for making it official."

"Today, marriage certificate in hand, we stand with our two beautiful children as a modern American family and say 'love is love,'" McAnally continues. "We continue in the hope and belief that open minds and accepting hearts will always conquer fear."

On his own Instagram account, Baum shared a photo of Mayor Barry officiating the couple's ceremony.

McAnally and Baum welcomed Dylan and Dash into their family in December of 2012. McAnally is the writer of numerous recent big country hits hits, for artists such as Kenny Chesney, Sam Hunt and Kacey Musgraves, among many others; he has also produced works for Musgraves, Hunt, Jake Owen and more. In 2014, he was named the ACM's Songwriter of the Year.

Country Stars Who Have Come Out

More From TheBoot