Bride’s ‘owler

    Bird carrying rings nods off in rafters

    Night, owl ... bird dozes on church beam

    BRIDE Sonia Mattle’s wedding turned into a hoot when an owl trained to carry her rings fell asleep in the church rafters.

    The bird called Darcy had been hired with its two trainers to swoop down the aisle with gold bands for her and groom Andrew, 49, on ribbons.

    But the fairytale stunt reminiscent of the magic owl in the Harry Potter films flopped when the first handler let Darcy loose at the back of the church.

    Instead of flying to the glove of trainer No2 — standing beside the couple — the owl fluttered into the rafters. He then defied all attempts to coax him from his perch and dozed off.

    Fortunately mum-of-two Sonia, 46, of Witney, Oxfordshire, had been dubious the romantic gesture organised by her mother was a wise idea.

    She said yesterday: “We had back-up rings as a Plan B so were able to carry on.” Phil Voller, who runs Wings Over Wiltshire and hires out Darcy for weddings, got his bird back an hour later after ladders were used to reach him.

    Rev Chris Bryan, vicar of 900-year-old Holy Cross Church in Sherston, Wilts, confirmed: “The owl was the bride’s mother’s idea and a complete surprise to the groom.

    “It would have been superb — if it had worked. We all had a bit of a laugh about it.”

【纠错】

责任编辑： 林杉