Weird But True

Badass birds are the latest trend in wedding ringbearers: ‘We were nervous’

They’re the absolute flyest wedding guests. 

But these finely-feathered attendees don’t ever mean to steal the hitching couple’s thunder — instead, the showstoppers are there to bring the bling. 

“We had a hawk as a ring bearer at our wedding,” Florida bride Courtney Laney boasted in a buzzy TikTok bulletin, featuring a photo of the raptor perched on her gloved hand after performing its matrimonial duties. 

“This was super badass,” bragged the blond. 

And wild brides of a feather are now flocking to their nearest aviaries, hiring hawks, falcons, owls and other birds of prey to serve as ring bearers on their big days — which can come at a cost of more than $1,200. 

“They think they’re being cool,” Michele Losee, owner of the nonprofit International Raptor and Falconry Center in Flagstaff, Arizona, told the Wall Street Journal of the lovebirds who entrust their most precious jewels to the party fowl. “But really [the couples and their wedding guests are] leaving with a whole lot more knowledge about what they can do with a raptor.”

Birds of prey as ring bearers is fast becoming the wildest wedding trend on TikTok. castenoid – stock.adobe.com

Footage of Losee’s fly friends, including a sky sailor named Leroy who “nearly pooped on a bride’s dress” during a ring bearer gig in October, has garnered thousands of social media clicks. 

And beneath the wedding-TikTok hashtag #RingBearer, gals with flares for the avant-garde — or obsessions with Harry Potter and Renaissance fairs — are virally gushing over the ways the flapping little helpers enhanced their ceremonies. 

“Ring-bird! We had our hawk fly our rings down the aisle,” gushed a recent bride in the closed caption of her animal-centric fête. 

“He did fly ‘off stage’ at the end instead of back down the aisle,” she noted, “but that just added a humorous touch.”

A stubborn raptor had invitees in stitches when it refused to give up the rings to a pair tying the knot on a Ventura beach in October. 

And grooms are getting in on the feathery fun, too. 

Kevin Mark hired a hawk to surprise his bird-loving wife at their “I do’s” in York, Pennsylvania, in June 2023. The sneaky yet sweet newlywed enlisted his brother to aid him in executing the stunt. 

“We were both very nervous. We knew the margin of error was very small,” Mark recalled to WSJ, happily noting that the birdie treat went off without a hitch. 

In fact, outré ring bearer alternatives are soaring so highly in popularity that whiney tots in tuxes may soon be out of jobs at weddings. 

In March, non-traditional bride Aleah Tompkins decided to ditch the practice of having cranky kids precede her to the altar and instead tapped a friend to act as her “beer boy” who handed out cold brews to grateful guests at her beachside wedding. 

Birds of prey including falcons, hawks, eagles and owls are serving as wedding ring bearers. rachelmaloneyphoto/Tiktok
Well-trained birds can cost couples more than $1,200. Kamil – stock.adobe.com

And couples in the UK are inviting well-groomed alpacas to mix and mingle with attendees while toasting their nuptials. 

However, in New York City, cutesy critters like white doves may soon be banned from celebrations. 

“Bird releases — they’re just a harmful and cruel way to mark weddings, gender reveals and memorial services,” Manhattan Councilwoman Carlina Rivera said in October. The city council has proposed a bill to veto dove releases throughout the Big Apple. 

“We just feel it’s unnecessary — things can go terribly wrong.”

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