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UK Wedding News

21/11/2013

'Wedding Owl' Vanishes During Ceremony

A couple's big day was forced to face an unexpected delay after a barn owl, which was supposed to deliver the wedding rings to the happy couple, disappeared into the rafters of the venue.

According to the Daily Mail, Lilo the barn owl was supposed to fly the rings down the aisle to Ceire and Andrew Bode, but instead chose to fly into the rafters and refused to come back down.

However, the couple have insisted it made their day even more memorable.

Mr Bode, 32, initially tried to coax the bird of prey down from its perch, but to no avail. It was only when the animal's handler produces a dead chick, did Lilo decide to play his part in the ceremony.

Speaking about the unexpected surprise, 33-year-old Ceire said: "'It was absolutely hilarious. We wanted our wedding to be something different and this made sure it was.

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"If we'd just had the owl delivering the rings then our guests would have talked about it for maybe five minutes.

"Because of what happened, people are still talking about it now. It really broke the ice and stopped everyone feeling nervous.

"I didn't mind at all. It was still the best day of my life. Everything else went to plan, this was just a little hiccup in my perfect day."

Her husband, who had hired Lilo from a bird sanctuary, added: "Ceire is a big Harry Potter fan and she wanted to incorporate this into the wedding day.

"We've also been to hundreds of weddings in the past through work so we wanted one with a difference.

"The owl was at the back of the church with one of the people from the sanctuary.

"None of the guests knew we had an owl as ringbearer so it was a surprise for them when, after we'd said our vows, I picked up a glove and a piece of chicken.

"I'd been told to make a clicking sound with my mouth to call the owl over, but it wasn't coming.

"Eventually it started flying up the aisle, but then it veered off and almost flew in Ceire's face. Then it just flew up into the beams and stayed up there for about five minutes - only it felt a lot longer.

"But we didn't know how to get the bird down and the guy from the sanctuary pulled out a dead chick to coax it down.

"It was a bit of a surreal moment really, I didn't expect to be holding a piece of chicken and trying to lure an owl down from the roof with a dead chick on my wedding day.

"The guests were all really laughing. And it did stop me from feeling so nervous."

(JP/MH)

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"A couple's big day was forced to face an unexpected delay after a barn owl, which was supposed to deliver the wedding rings to the happy couple, disappeared into the rafters of the venue."