Stubborn owl flees during wedding ceremony with rings

They weren’t the real wedding rings, but the ceremony was halted for a while. “I had the real rings in my pocket,” says the groom who is going on a honeymoon with his wife today.

“I have one rule. Never let the owl fly with the real rings,” explains the owl’s companion, Brigitte Furnèmont. “You work with animals anyway, so you never know.” And so it turned out. The animal landed on top of an adjacent roof and refused to come down.

Fire brigade comes to the rescue

“No matter what I did, she didn’t come up to me. She had the best view, of course, so it was fine. And I couldn’t climb the roof either, so the fire brigade had to come and get her down.”

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After a short break, the wedding ceremony had continued and the couple had said yes. The whole adventure was quite stressful for Brigitte, but especially for her owl. But now she can laugh about it too. “It is not a wise owl, but a stubborn owl. Last Thursday we did a test flight, which went great. I thought: that will be a piece of cake.”

Not the first time that owl flees

Yet it is not the first time that the owl had other plans. “I know she doesn’t really run off. But last year it also went wrong a few times, only then the fire brigade did not have to come,” says Brigitte.

Time for a retirement? “Well, I’m not sure how to proceed. She grew up in captivity and has been doing this for nine years. And you don’t want to disappoint couples who have booked us.”

Another wedding on Saturday

So the owl goes into the rematch. “We have a wedding on Saturday, but it’s giving me gray hair now,” Brigitte says with a laugh. Furthermore, she is especially grateful to the fire service for their efforts. “I will definitely visit them to explain about the owl and that they can take a picture with her.”