This owl is the wedding accessory you never knew you needed

IF YOU haven't had a specially-trained barn owl deliver your rings on the Big Day, have you even been married?

You can have Socks the barn owl as the ring bearer at your wedding now. Picture: Macadamia Castle

AFTER four years of training, the Macadamia Castle is ready to launch the coolest wedding accessory yet.

You can now have Socks the barn owl as a special guest and just in time for the spring wedding season.

Owner of the Macadamia Castle, Tony Gilding, said the idea came from a former bird trainer who wanted Socks to be the ring bearer at her own wedding.

"We have been working with him to deliver a ring to the bride or groom during the wedding," Mr Gilding said.

"When it comes to the part where the celebrant says, 'who's got the rings?', the person who is gloved up puts their hand up and Socks will fly across the crowd and deliver the rings which will be in a little pouch on his foot."

The six-year-old barn owl has been in training for the last four years when he became a part of the Macadamia Castle family.

"It's quite a process but we are confident about it now," Mr Gilding said.

The service costs around $1250 and can be held at any venue on the Northern Rivers, once inspected.

"We have to go out and look at the location and then we have to do a rehearsal with him and then of course we go out on the day with a couple of keepers," Mr Gilding said.

Mr Gilding said it was a "real crowd pleaser" to watch Socks emerge for his "magical appearance".

"One of the fascinating things about barn owls is they fly absolutely silently, you cannot hear a wing flap," he said.

"It is just amazing and that's what makes it so special as well, the crowd goes quiet and this silent thing flies over them and it is beautiful, they are absolutely stunning."

Originally published as This owl is the wedding accessory you never knew you needed