Ripon: Falconer trains owls to act as wedding ring bearers

Dawn Derby said the owls were a big hit at her and husband Derek's wedding in January

A falconer has said his hand-reared owls have been booked to act as ring bearers at about 90 weddings this year.

Ryan Stocks, who runs Ripon-based company Owl Adventures, said the birds are trained to surprise wedding guests by swooping down during the ceremony.

With the rings attached to their feet, they fly to the best man who is provided with a glove and some training ahead of the wedding.

Mr Stocks said it certainly provides an element of surprise for guests.

"We arrive about an hour before, do a quick practice flight for the purpose of the best man, we then hide away somewhere, which is always a challenge," he said.

Mr Stocks said one of the owls, Juno, is particularly noisy and could often give away the surprise with her screeches.

"When the moment arrives, we appear at the end of the aisle, that's the surprise element for everybody," he added.

"The owl flies down, they take the rings off and then the owls fly back to me."

He said his owls are "like a magnet to the glove" and any hiccups are apparently rare.

Occasionally, the owls might take a quick detour before landing on the best man's glove, but the risk is "part of the excitement", according to the falconer.

Ryan Stocks is an experienced falconer from North Yorkshire

The majority of the time, guests marvel at the owls but Ryan admitted there could be the odd shocked relative.

"Occasionally, you might get a little call from Aunt Susan who is scared of birds and nobody told her, but that's quite rare luckily," he told BBC Radio York.

Mr Stocks said while it might seem unusual his bookings have been growing and he has even been invited out to a wedding on the Greek island of Santorini next year with his birds.

One couple, Dawn and Derek Derby, booked the experience for their wedding in January.

"Both of us were keen to do something really different and add some value to the day," Mr Derby said.

After a lot of research, he found that wedding owls were a unique choice and his wife said she was "delighted" by the idea.

"The best man's reaction was initially a little bit shell-shocked but he set to work watching videos and very quickly felt at ease," Mr Derby said.

"We tried to keep the owls as under wraps as we could but the wedding party realised quickly because the barn owl was quite vocal."

The couple described the moment as having "wow factor".

"I can't think of one of the guests who didn't take a photograph or handle the birds," Mr Derby said.

"It is something that will stick with us forever."