The chicken-loving bride made the request of celebrant Anna Staines hoping her pet hen Labola could fulfil the role.
But Labola, named after the South African word for dowry, is a shrew who won’t be tamed.
“The bird is bat s**t crazy,” Ms Staines told ABC News.
“They can’t catch her, they can’t touch her, they can’t clean her, she screams whenever she doesn’t need to.”
And so, Ms Staines put a call out to poultry breeders on social media seeking a Labola “body double”.
Just in time for the big day in April, a chicken called Pepper from Wamuran has strutted onto the scene.
“She’s just at the base of the Mt Mee where the wedding is being held,” Ms Staines said in an update to Paws N’ All.
“And she is the spitting image of Lobola, but couldn’t be more opposite in terms of persona; she is sane!”
Pepper will be wheeled down the aisle in a pram sitting on two golden pop-open eggs containing the wedding rings.
“Bottom line, she is the devout professional and I couldn’t be more honoured – nor more confident – to share the spotlight four ways: the bride, the groom, Pepper and myself,” said Ms Staines.
Earlier, family member Chloe Buning told ABC News that the whole thing started as a joke by the brother of the bride who requested, in jest, a dowry from her husband-to-be.
“They come from South Africa, so the tradition over there is to pay a dowry, so she’s marrying an Aussie bloke and we just had a bit of a joke with him that he needed to pay the dowry.”
In true Aussie-style, the dowry turned out to be the chicken Labola. Little did she know she’d be expected to play such a big role in the wedding.
But now, thanks to Ms Staines, she’s home-free. Let’s hope there are no ruffled feathers on the big day!
