Wedding rings flown in by owl

Jun 17 2010 by Judith Phillips, North Wales Weekly News

IT WAS appropriate for a gamekeeper’s daughter that the wedding rings were flown down the aisle by an owl when Julianne Groom was married to Steve Jones recently.

Julianne is the daughter of Peter Groom, gamekeeper for Mostyn Estates in Llandudno, and county councillor Linda Groom, who arranged for Whisper the barn owl from Penybryn Falconry of Cerrigydrudion to swoop down with the rings at the appropriate point in the wedding ceremony at St Paul’s Church in Craig-y-Don onto Linda’s outstretched arm.

“I had a training session with the falconer on the Wednesday before to make sure it went okay, but on the day the best man Paul, Steve’s brother and my sons who were the ushers were panicking when I hadn’t arrived by 12.20pm with the rings,” said Linda.

“I had to smuggle in a gauntlet and some owl food and at the last minute put the glove on. Straight after the vows I faced the congregation and there were some peculiar looks as they wondered what was happening.

“I turned and put my hand out and the owl spotted the food on the gauntlet and flew down with the rings attached to its leg.”

Another special moment during the service was when former X-Factor contestant and family friend Paris Graham-Jones, 18, sang Songbird, Pie Iesu and Panis Angelicus.