First pictures: Coleen's emotional rollercoaster 21st birthday

11 April 2012
The Weekender

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Coleen McLoughlin celebrated her 21st birthday party with a circus-themed party that included fairground rides, acrobats, stilt-walkers, a giant Big Top and a 5ft high birthday cake... All that seemed to be missing was a troupe of clowns.

Her fiance, Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney, has been planning the £500,000 bash for months and presented his wife-to-be with a £200,000 ten-carat diamond ring from Chopard to mark the occasion.

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Coleen shopping in preparation for her party

While former England captain David Beckham and wife Victoria were unable to attend, the rest of the great and the good of the soccer world turned out to toast the birthday girl at Thornton Manor hotel in The Wirral.

Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard and his fiancee Alex Curran, Newcastle United striker Michael Owen and wife Louise, and Rooney's team-mates Cristiano Ronaldo and Rio Ferdinand were among the guests at the sprawling neo-Gothic pile, where the party was held in a giant marquee in the grounds.

As stilt-walkers, trapeze artists and acrobats entertained the guests, they were also able to enjoy fairground rides including a Walzter and stomach-turning pendulum ride called the Free Rider.

Entertainment in the form of stiltwalkers

Coleen - the current face of supermarket giant Asda, where she models their budget clothing line - chose a stunning £1,000 gown from designer Amanda Wakely after buying two dresses for the event.

There was no dress code for the 300 guests, who each received a six-page pink and lilac invitation.

'We were all surprised that there was no instruction on the invite but it was at Coleen's request,' a guest told The Mail on Sunday. 'Coleen wanted the event to be relaxed and insisted people should come dressed however they wanted. She has been excited about the party for weeks and wanted to make sure that everything was perfect on the night.

Wayne Rooney's brother Graeme and girlfriend: Liverpool footballer Peter Crouch

'Everything has been shrouded in secrecy. She bought two frocks for the evening, she was so determined to be the belle of the ball. She eventually decided on the Amanda Wakely dress.'

Guests enjoyed a champagne reception followed by a buffet dinner from a selection of six ethnic food stalls around the marquee, including Italian, Japanese and Coleen's favourite, Indian. There was also a bar carved in ice with Coleen's signature chiselled into it.

After dinner, entertainment included the cutting of the £1,000 cake, following by a night of dancing. Girl band the Sugababes played a live set and dancing continued into the early hours, with Coleen's favourite, DJ Will Rogers, who usually works at the local pub in her home town, Croxteth.

Rooney, 21, whose personal preparations included a £16.50 trim at a local hairdresser's as well as pampering by a local grooming studio, told friends he had decided on the party's theme because his fiancee loves the circus.

'Wayne has put a lot of time into planning the event,' said a friend. 'He wanted to make it a night Coleen would always remember.'

A fleet of cars delivered guests home at the end of the night, clutching gifts of cupcakes bearing pictures of Coleen, while Wayne and his birthday girl were booked into the top suite at the five-star hotel.

The couple have sold exclusive rights for coverage of the party, as well as their wedding next summer, to Hello! magazine, in an unprecedented £1.5million deal.

A spokesman for the couple denied that the magazine had dictated the guest list and insisted the lavish bash was essentially an intimate affair for family and close friends.

'Hello! are covering the event but they have not even seen the guest list,' said the spokesman. 'They have had no control over the party, which has been entirely paid for by Wayne and Coleen and was always intended for family and friends.'

Coleen's parents Colette and Anthony, who still live in nearby Croxteth, attended, together with her two brothers Joe and Anthony and her adopted younger sister Rosie who suffers from Rett syndrome.

Wayne's parents and extended family were also there, including his cousin Claire, one of Coleen's best friends.

Guests were asked to leave their cameras at home and Wayne and Coleen were no doubt hoping there would be no repetition of Coleen's 18th birthday, where celebrations were marred when a brawl broke out between Rooney's uncle Eugene, a former boxer, and Wayne's father.

'There was no question about Rooney's uncle and father being kept away from each other,' said a friend. 'They have been helping Wayne plan the party and it's all they have talked about for ages.'

Since turning 18, Coleen has amassed fame and an independent fortune in her own right. Her autobiography Welcome To My World is a bestseller. As well as her Asda contract, Coleen has a six-figure deal with Diet Coke and a £1.5million contract with Nike. She is estimated to have earned more than £7million through sponsorship deals and book sales.

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