Bindi Irwin Plans Tribute To Father Steve Amid Shocking Family Drama

Bindi Irwin is quite busy preparing for her wedding to Chandler Powell next year, and part of it involves planning a tribute for her late father, Steve Irwin, on her big day.

Since Steve passed away in 2006 due to a stingray attack off the northern Australia coast, Bindi has made some adjustments to her wedding ceremony in honor of her late father. Among which is her decision to have her brother Robert walk her down the aisle because that’s what Steve would have wanted, according to the bride-to-be.

And this week, the “Dancing With the Stars” Season 21 winner revealed that she and her family are also preparing a special candle lighting ceremony for her late dad as part of her nuptials.

“I really want to include Dad on the day and make sure that he is with us in some way. Just little bits of Dad that will make it feel like he’s there with us,” she told People.

Bindi then went on to explain that the candle lighting ceremony will be meaningful to the entire family because all of them will gather, light a candle and share a few words about the deceased conservationist and how he remains to be an “amazing” person for all of them.

Bindi and Chandler got engaged on the Animal Planet star’s 21st birthday on July 24 after dating for about six years. They are set to tie the knot at the Australia Zoo next year.

While the news about their upcoming wedding continues to make headlines, Bindi and her family were recently caught up in a controversy that exposed their long-running feud with Steve’s father, Bob.

Apparently, Bob refused to congratulate Bindi on her engagement to Powell in a recent interview. Furthermore, he implied that he won’t be coming to the wedding because he’s “not the slightest bit interested in it.”

However, Bob has since clarified in a follow-up interview that he made an “innocent mistake” in his previous dialogue with a news outlet. He also extended his well-wishes to the couple.

Despite his clarification, Bob’s controversial interview has already reignited the buzz over their long-running family feud because of the Australia Zoo, which he founded more than 40 years ago. Bob distanced himself from their family zoo two years after Steve’s passing.

In 2015, he dropped a bombshell when he publicly announced that he and Bindi’s family were no longer on speaking terms. Bob has been very vocal about not liking the commercialization of their zoo after his son’s death, and this is believed to be one of the main reasons of their feud.