Bindi Irwin has shared details from her wedding to Chandler Powell and revealed all the changes they had to make as a result of the pandemic.
Sharing a photograph on Instagram of the couple looking at each other in the barn at the Australia Zoo where they tied the knot, she reflected on how much she missed her late father, Steve Irwin, and Powell’s family, who could not be there because of the coronavirus crisis.
She wrote: “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.”
The couple tied the knot at the Queensland zoo on March 25, hours before the country banned weddings attended by more than five people.
During the ceremony they lit a candle in memory of Irwin’s father, who was killed by a stingray in September 2006, when she was eight.