Bindi Irwin's wedding didn't turn out how she had planned. The 21-year-old conservationist wed Chandler Powell at the Australia Zoo last month, but not much of the big day happened as planned due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"We had been planning for almost a year, but as soon as this all started happening, we had to look at different options to make sure everyone was safe," she tells People of the ceremony, which only had Bindi's mom, Terri, brother, Robert, and her late father Steve’s best friend, Wes Mannion, in attendance.
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"It was a tough decision but absolutely the right one," she says. "... Even if it wasn’t by-the-book perfect, it was our perfect."
While Bindi admits that she and Chandler "thought about postponing" their nuptials, in the end, they were simply too eager to become husband and wife.
"You want to share this day with everyone," she says. "But when it boiled down to it, we both just said, 'Look, we desperately want to get married, and no matter what the future holds, at least we’ll be husband and wife. We can take on the world together.'"
Amid all of the necessary changes to their big day, one thing that stayed the same was Bindi's stunning, long-sleeve lace gown.
"The first time I saw Bindi in that dress was the most beautiful sight in the world," Chandler, 23, says. "I immediately teared up. Nothing has ever felt more right than that moment in time."
As for Bindi, the bride is enjoying newlywed life and excited for her future with Chandler.
"These last few days have been amazing reflecting on our whirlwind of a day and also looking forward to the future," she says. "My dad would be so happy."
When ET spoke to the couple last summer, Bindi revealed how Steve, who died in 2006, would feel about his daughter's now-husband.
"He would have wanted someone for me that would just be ready to take on anything, and that's definitely [Chandler]," she said.
Watch the video below for more on the happy couple.
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