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EXCLUSIVE: Inside Bindi Irwin’s romantic Australia Zoo wedding to Chandler Powell

It's going to be so gorgeous!

After Bindi Irwin, 21, and Chandler Powell, 22, announced their engagement, the young wildlife warrior confirmed she is planning her dream wedding at Australia Zoo, complete with koalas.

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New Idea spoke to Sunshine Coast wedding planner Trudy Croad, owner of Lovebird Weddings, who gives exclusive behind-the-scene details of 
a beautiful but ecological ceremony at Queensland’s Australia Zoo.

WATCH: Bindi Irwin announces engagement to Chandler Powell

From recycled invitations using elephant poo to a huge outdoor dance floor, here’s exactly what the experts think Bindi’s 2020 wedding will look like.

SUNSET VOWS

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Bindi and Chandler met at Australia Zoo in 2013 and the park has a very special place in the newly-engaged couple’s hearts, so Trudy predicts the nuptials will take place at the wildlife estate after visitors have gone for the day.

“I know they are not going to want to close that park until 5pm that evening. I am imagining they’d want to go for a summer wedding – not December or January due to other commitments, I’m thinking a November wedding,” Trudy says.

“They could do a sunset ceremony. They’ve got a beautiful elephant enclosure called Elephantasia. It’s got an amazing waterfall which would make a really stunning ceremony backdrop.”

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ANIMALS EVERYWHERE!

Animals will of course play a huge part in the wedding of the Crocodile Hunter’s daughter.

“Koalas on our wedding day is a MUST,” Bindi wrote on Instagram, with Chandler agreeing, “It only makes sense that we include our Australia Zoo family in on our special day.”

Trudy says the pair will probably want to include their beloved elephant too.

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“Unfortunately they [recently] lost their third elephant cub. I know for Bindi there would be an emotional connection to that enclosure,” Trudy explains.

“Then you’d get all the guests onto a train and take them down to the African Savannah and that’s where you’ve got this amazing open-plan space with palm trees. A lot of those animals are put back at 5pm, but I think the cheetahs will still roam through that area.”

OUTDOOR DANCE FLOOR

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Bindi won the US version of Dancing with the Stars in 2015 and she certainly has a talent 
for the foxtrot.

Trudy expects 
an outdoor dance floor will be 
a priority for the wildlife crusader.

“They can’t go with 
a marquee with a white cover. With an area like Australia Zoo, it’s got to be clear, you’ve got to see the stars above you,” she says.

“She’s going to have a big outdoor dance floor – she won Dancing With the Stars! A dance floor with overhead lights would be stunning.”

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ELEPHANT POO INVITATIONS

Bindi and Chandler share a love for the environment and Trudy believes the eco-warriors will keep their wedding as sustainable as possible.

“Both Bindi and Chandler are the ultimate in everything being sustainable and recyclable, so from every element of their day, they’re going to really want that to come true. And that could start from the very beginning,” Trudy says.

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“Elephant poo makes the most beautiful recycled wedding invitation paper. So they could use the elephant poo they have on site to make their invitations.”

REMEMBERING STEVE

Steve Irwin passed away in 2006 when Bindi was only 8, and the bride-to-be is bound to honour her dad during her wedding.

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“It’s about acknowledging Steve in the most beautiful way. But also making sure the focus is always on the two of them,” Trudy says.

“Bindi has a brother, and she can walk down the aisle with Robert. That would be amazing.”

Bindi echoed this sentiment in a interview: “I think that’s what Dad would have wanted as 
well,” she said. Bindi also said she’ll be dancing with her mum Terri in lieu of the traditional father-daughter dance during her reception.

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