How Bindi Irwin Honored Her Father During Australia Zoo Wedding

The coronavirus pandemic has definitely changed the plans of a lot of people. While travel plans and canceled celebrations may seem trivial when you consider life and death, they are still a loss that is very much felt.

Many people haven’t been letting the pandemic completely ruin their plans. Instead, they’re getting creative. For example, one couple that would’ve gotten engaged on a trip to Paris, got engaged in front of a hand-drawn picture of iconic Parisian landmarks.

Another couple that didn’t let love stop their plans is Bindi Irwin and Chandler Powell. You probably remember Irwin as the daughter of the late Steve Irwin, the famous “crocodile hunter.” 

At 21-years-old, Bindi is all grown up and head over heals in love. Back in March, despite the pandemic, the couple pushed forward with their wedding plans; although, Irwin shared in an Instagram post that her special day wasn’t exactly the way she had hoped it would be. 

First, due to the pandemic, the couple couldn’t celebrate with their family and friends. They actually didn’t have any wedding guests. Second, due to the paparazzi flying overhead in a helicopter, Bindi had to move her wedding ceremony inside at the very last minute. The wedding was originally supposed to take place on the African Savannah at the Australia Zoo. Instead, she moved it inside a barn where she used to film “Bindi The Jungle Girl” and where her dad used to film “Crocodile Hunter.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

This moment. My favourite wedding day photograph. This isn’t the fairytale image capturing the ‘perfect’ wedding day feeling. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. This picture was taken after we had to change our entire wedding. We decided not to have wedding guests due to the global crisis for everyone’s health and safety. Our family and friends couldn’t be there to celebrate with us. However, they all encouraged us to continue on and get married. From their love and support, we felt love win. We changed our wedding date the night before we got married but we were determined to let love win. Everything from the cake to the flowers were different. Thankfully, we worked with local businesses to make it happen. They helped love win. On our wedding day we were finally about to get married and the paparazzi flew over us in a helicopter scaring our wildlife. We had to leave our stunning wedding venue on the African Savannah for their safety. I said goodbye to the place I had dreamed of getting married for so many years. At that moment I remembered the filming barn where I’d spent much of my life with my family working on Crocodile Hunter and Bindi The Jungle Girl. I knew we could make it work and our zoo crew helped us to move everything inside. I watched love win. I was there in my wedding dress, husband-to-be by my side, moving tables and flowers and trying to make our day finally become a reality. At one point I sat on a chair in the corner doing my best not to think about how overwhelming things seemed. I missed the people who couldn’t be there, my dad, Chandler’s family, our dear friends, my family. Chandler stopped what he was doing and sat next to me. I asked him to list me happy things. He proceeded to remind me that love ALWAYS wins. That’s when this picture was taken. Despite everything, we got married and I’ll forever be grateful. Sure, things weren’t perfect but that’s life. Life is messy and beautiful and meant to be felt. We were overcoming great obstacles to prove that unconditional love is the most important foundation. Our wedding day wasn’t what we planned but it was an extraordinary starting point for our marriage to bloom. ❤️

A post shared by Bindi Irwin (@bindisueirwin) on

It’s completely understandable that the bride was a little emotional, not to mention the fact that she missed her dad and wished he could’ve been at the ceremony. Even though Steve Irwin was not present, he was very much remembered at the wedding.

Irwin talked to Entertainment Tonight about her wedding day and how she has chosen to honor her father. Watch the video below to see her emotional interview.