Paul's pride Bella's fairytale day

HER MAGICAL DISNEY-THEMED WEDDING

- Alice O’Connell

It may come as somewhat of a surprise to hear he’s a great fan of fairytales, Tinkerbell and magic dust, but indeed, one of the things that gives Paul Henry true joy is the enchanted world of Disney.

Ultimately though, his three gorgeous grown-up daughters are his greatest source of delight − and last Friday those elements combined for a dream day as Paul walked his youngest, Bella, down the aisle in a Disneythemed celebration, complete with his own custom-made Mickey Mouse-inspired suit.

The Sunday papers called him ‘the world’s scariest Father of the Bride’ after hearing rumours the wedding was taking place, but his new son-in-law Julyan Collett (31) says he now knows a different man to what people may have seen on the telly.

“He’s an incredible father to these girls and I get to see that side of him,” smiles Julyan.

Bella (27) agrees and says he’s “secretly the world’s biggest softie”. It’s a statement that’s certainly hard to disagree with when the man is wearing a suit featuring sequined love hearts and Mickey Mouse ears. Paul surprised Bella with the special suit, which he had made from pure New Zealand wool by RJB Design, complete with embroidered Mickey Mouse hands arching across his back to form a love heart.

“I think the designers really enjoyed doing it too, because I would venture to guess that not many people would go that far!” laughs Paul, who is also now a grandfather to eldest daughter Lucy’s two-year-old son, Rei.

“What I loved about Bella’s theme was that it wasn’t over the top, crass or tacky – if anything was over the top it was me, really. I mean, my suit was on the cusp of [Sir] Elton John, wasn’t it?”