A NOVEL addition to wedding ceremonies is taking flight at a Weymouth hotel.

When the registrar asks for the presentation of the rings, instead of the best man reaching into his pocket couples tying the knot at the Riviera Hotel may be ducking as a stunning Harris hawk or barn owl flies down the aisle with the rings in a leather pouch attached to its leg, landing on the best man’s fist.

The eye catching entrance of the rings is being made available thanks to the hotel’s resident falconer Ryan Ashworth.

He explained: “I’ve been a falconer for a number of years now and I’ve used my birds for various duties around the hotel before.

“These include shows, giving guests photo opportunities and sending them up to deter seagulls from nesting in our iconic tower.

“Recently I got together with our weddings department and we came up with this amazing way for the rings to be delivered at a ceremony.

“This involves the bird flying from my fist at the back of the venue along the aisle and onto the best man’s fist. He then takes the rings from the bird’s feet and hands them to the registrar.”

He added: “It’s something that has been done in other places but I’m not aware of it being available here in Dorset.

“I have trained the birds to do this and they don’t suffer in any way.

“They are used to people and used to flying to the fist and, to be honest, they actually enjoy it.”

The service has already provoked plenty of interest.

Weddings manager Liz Durden added: “We have only just started promoting the service and it’s proving really popular. People are always looking for something a little bit different and spectacular and this ticks both of those boxes.”