For millenia, white doves have been a traditional symbol in marriage rites.
To the traditional Egyptians, the dove represented quiet innocence.
The Chinese saw the dove as a symbol of peace and long life. The dove was the holy animal of Aphrodite and Venus, the goddesses of love.
In these traditional cultures, the groom would give a dove to the bride, symbolising his guarantee to help care for her and for the family. Today , Doves are constantly released at marriages as a blessing for the bride and groom.
Doves pair up for life, so they are a real illustration of love and the eternal commitment a couple have made.
This tradition has become extremely popular at marriages in the US, Canada and the United Kingdom in recent times.
It’s also quickly becoming more popular in Australia. There are several bird fanciers that have put their experience to providing doves for release at events in their neighborhood. It is easy to have an impressive white dove release at your own marriage that is just as fascinating as it would’ve been for people who took part in the marriages of traditional times ( potentially much more.
There is far more to it than meets the eye. To elucidate this, I’m going to bare a secret to you. ) The White Doves that go to weddings are really white racing pigeons. Doves and Pigeons are kind of like cousins in the animal world. They’re not precisely the same, but they are terribly similar. Only a bird expert would be in a position to spot the difference at a marriage. It’s critical that only pigeons are released at marriages. The explanation for this is the pigeons have a homing instinct, the facility to fly back to their home after they are released. You can not get them back so they’d have to fend for themselves. That is where the “art-form” I was talking about comes into it. Pro Dove Releasers start by selectively breeding the most pretty white pigeons, with the pigeons that have the stongest homing instinct. This occurs long before they attend your marriage, taking everybody’s breath away. There’s a lot of effort involved to get the birds with just the right mixture of beauty and brains. These birds then go thru a very strong coaching period for the 1st year of their life -just like sportsmen preparing for the Olympic Games. After this we are assured that they are going to be ready to fly home from anywhere inside a 80km radius. In my case, birds from the Heavenly Doves flat must be in a position to fly home from anywhere in Sydney. ( Racing pigeons can fly back to their home terrace from hundreds or thousands of kms away ). Using racing pigeons is the sole decent way to release “doves” as the birds will always go back home to be well cared for with lots of food, water and security after the celebration is over. We also select the birds with a good nature and get them used to being handled by folk ( particularly frightened newlyweds ) so you can be assured the doves will be relaxed at your rite – No pecking Birds. The other side of the “art-form” is the way the doves are presented and released at your marriage.
It is crucial to have a professional dove release attendant at the wedding. Firstly because we have got an entire collection of decorative cages and baskets that you can opt to have your doves displayed in, and you’ve got the choice of releasing the doves from your hands or immediately from their cage or basket. Second , a vital part of a good dove release is the position of the doves and the timing. By this I mean performing the dove release at the best location and in the part of the occassion that makes it a unusual experience for the bride, groom and guests.
