Kelsea Ballerini and Morgan Evans took tequila shots for marriage toast

Newlywed country singers Kelsea Ballerini and Morgan Evans toasted their marriage with a round of tequila shots as soon as they became husband and wife.

The couple tied the knot in a ceremony on the beach in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, on 2 December (17), and the musicians decided to get the party started immediately after saying their vows.

"It's a little bit different, but that's how we started," Kelsea tells People magazine, sharing a photo of the pair standing at the altar for the non-traditional toast.

The shots were a nod to the stars' first shared drink, which took place after they co-hosted the CMC Awards in Evans' native Australia back in March, 2016.

"He was like, 'Let's take a shot,'" Kelsea recalls of the afterparty. "I remember taking that shot and putting it down and looking at him like, 'Oh... he's super hot.' Later that night, he leaned over and asked if he could kiss me, like a proper gentleman, and I said yes."

While Kelsea and Morgan successfully weaved the "tequila theme" into their big day, other aspects of the ceremony didn't quite go to plan - they forgot to have the officiant tell their guests, which included Lady Antebellum star Charles Kelley, that they could sit down after the bride walked down the aisle.

"They stood the entire ceremony!," she laughs.

Luckily the service was fairly brief - especially after the groom ended his vows early because they made the couple overly emotional.

Morgan says, "Kelsea's vows were, as you would expect, poetic, sweet - like, mind-blowingly good. Our officiant was like, 'Hey, Morgan, beat that!' I said mine, and I was going to finish with a few lines of the first song I wrote for her. I got halfway through them, and she started to lose it, then I started to lose it - so I ended up having to cut it a little bit short!"

For the reception, they enjoyed their first dance to Christina Perri's ballad A Thousand Years, and ended the night with an impromptu dip in the swimming pool.

The singers are now looking forward to their first Christmas as newlyweds, before embarking on a busy 2018, and Kelsea is appreciative of her life's blessings.

"When you can do everything you want and then share it with someone, that makes for a full life," she smiles.