VIDEO: Groom enlisted help of feathered friend to surprise his bride

The bird of prey fan, who works as a procurement administrator for Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, secretly organised for Alfie the African Barn Owl to fly down during the ceremony and deliver the rings.

And it’s not the first time he’s caught Cherie Beechey by surprise - after he planted an impromptu kiss on her during their first date.

The couple, who met through social media, were enjoying a Sunday lunch at the pub whilst watching Liverpool play Manchester City.

“We really got on and when Liverpool scored the winning goal, I kissed her,” he says. “I wasn’t sure how she would react, but it went down well as we agreed to meet up for a night out in Preston the weekend after.”

There were a couple of mishaps on the way though, as Darren explains: “As I opened the car door to greet Cherie I tripped and proceeded to fall on the car park floor - her face was a picture.

“And when we finally got back in the car Cherie messed with the CD player and broke it. That was our first domestic!”

Darren, son of the late Marie and John Elsworth, from Preston, proposed to Cherie, daughter of David and Elaine Kemp, from Leicester, following a summer’s walk - and a beer for Dutch courage.

They tied the knot at the Preston Macdonald Tickled Trout Hotel on September 12, and put lessons from Wedding Dance Lancashire to good use, choosing Ed Sheeran’s ‘Thinking Out Loud’ for their first dance as husband and wife.

Cherie wore a dress she bought from St Catherine’s Hospice - ‘the best £100 I ever spent’.

The couple honeymooned in Perissa, Santorini.

- Visit www.lep.co.uk to see a video of the barn owl delivering the wedding ring.