The trend of having owls carry the rings at weddings to the groom or best man seems to have started in 2007, when Eagle International Enterprises Ltd claims to have launched the concept in the UK, building on the experience of Executive Director Stuart Laidler as both a commercial falconer and wedding planner; 2007 (31 December, to be exact) was also the time when an article appeared on the BBC News Web site, titled "Wedding rings duties for barn owl."
By the spring of 2009 the trend was firmly underway, so much so as to warrant an article in The Guardian in March, titled “The latest wedding essential – your rings delivered by owl,” about owls as ring bearers, as guardians of your rings for a little while.
In a meeting with handler Mike Roberts, the latter, who trains an owl he named Ollie the Owl (a popular name as owls go), suggested the new wedding must-have comes in the wake of many a falconer’s wedding, and that there’s nothing that strange or surprising about it. The author of the Guardian article, Patrick Barkham, surmised this wedding “accessory” might also have to do with one popular owl of recent years, Hedwig of the Harry Potter series.
Comments
There are many owls designs on Zazzle, so maybe it is.
Mira, Does this downsize -- ;-D -- the ceremony to no ring-bearers? Is this trend still going strong?
I admit they can be fun, and some are really beautiful, too!
I am already in love with these beautiful birds. Adore owls - the wedding theme with owls is a great idea.
Thank you, Jennifer, for your comment :). I'm intrigued, too, by owls because they're a symbol of both good things and bad things. Thank you for stopping by!
Well, I hadn't heard of this owl activity before. As an owl lover I'm definitely intrigued. Definitely cool to have owls on the wedding invitation, and a real live owl to deliver the ring, that's worth thinking about.
I've seen many owl things around lately: jewelry, etc. So there's definitely a trend. Never paid much attention until after I researched this article :)
What a unique idea! I'd never heard of this but I give a hoot! Fun fun!
Right, but there's also the owl of Athena, for instance. Owls can see in the dark, so they're also symbols of wisdom. And then came Harry Potter which amalgamated so many things, and you got something like this :)
I am really surprised though, in some cultures; owls are considered as bad omen.
No fault of theirs, of course, I adore the little birds.