Bindi Irwin plans to honor late father Steve at her wedding with a candle lighting ceremony
When Bindi Irwin and her fiance Chandler Powell tie the knot next year, the couple will be paying tribute to Bindi's late father, beloved wildlife expert and television personality Steve Irwin, with a special candle lighting ceremony. Irwin passed away on September 4, 2006, at the age of 44 after he was attacked by a stingray off the coast of northern Australia while filming for the documentary series 'Ocean’s Deadliest'.
“I really want to include Dad on the day and make sure that he is with us in some way,” Bindi told People. “Just little bits of Dad that will make it feel like he’s there with us.”
“We’ll have candle lighting ceremony,” she explained. “So we’ll be able to all get up as a little family and light a candle in his honor and share a few words on what an amazing dad he was and still is.”
Bindi, 21, and Powell, 22, met at the Australia Zoo where the Irwin family lives and works when Powell, a wakeboarder from Florida, was visiting the zoo in 2013. The two hit it off and, after six years of dating, they announced their engagement on July 24, Bindi’s 21st birthday, after dating for nearly six years.
“Out of everyone in our family, Dad would always get the most emotional out of everyone,” Bindi reminisced. “We’re all very emotional people, but Dad, anytime we would achieve anything as kids, he would just start crying. I remember the first time I ever filmed with little ants on camera, I was telling the camera that these little ants are so important to protect and he just started crying.”
“It was really special that he was the one that was so excited about the big moments in our lives and there isn’t a bigger moment that I can think of than getting married to Chandler,” the Animal Planet star added. “It’s going to be a really special day.”