North End teenage sweethearts who met at Pure Gym, Commercial Road tie the knot after 9 years together

Robyn and Alfie Raine’s wedding has been five years in the making, so to celebrate with their 160 guests at a dream wedding venue was ‘more than the pair could have asked for’.

Portsmouth born and bred, the North End couple wed at Skylark Golf & Country Club in Whiteley, Fareham on June 17, joined by their 86 day guests and a further 74 in the evening.

After a two-year delay thanks to the pandemic their special day was put on hold – but to reunite with family from abroad and guests they hadn’t been able to see for ‘far too long’ was what made their day that extra bit special.

Robyn, 27, says: ‘This is the first time since Covid that everyone’s getting together.

‘Everyone keeps saying how nice it is to be around family and friends again and celebrate something with everyone.

‘We had been planning in the five years up until June but luckily we didn’t book it until Covid was over and done with.’

When Robyn, née Dryden, met Alfie at Pure Gym on Commercial Road, it was a friend who posed as matchmaker to encourage the pair to get together.

At the time, Robyn says she was ‘happy just being on her own’ but on meeting Alfie ‘it all clicked and changed’.

‘I didn’t want a boyfriend and I wasn’t looking for anyone,’ remarks Robyn.

‘He was at the gym I was at and I’d never seen him before. I looked over to him and my friend suggested I go and see him.’

Reserved, Robyn decided she’d do it the following day if he returned – not expecting it to happen. But when he did come back that’s when her friend managed to get the admirers to speak to one another.

Since then, the avid foodies have been inseparable, frequenting eateries across the city and beyond to satisfy their cravings for sweet treats on dates.

Alfie, 24, popped the question to Robyn in 2017 following a stay at Old Thorns Hotel & Resort for a Christmas work meal.

Robyn describes is as the ‘perfect opportunity’ - as if it had been a planned stay she would’ve known it was coming.

She says: ‘He always said he would have to do it with me not knowing because I'm a control freak.

‘I was very shocked. I was in a strop after a bad night’s sleep but then he asked me to marry him and my mood switched.’

The Raines wedding day was filled with heartfelt touches, including a performance of A Thousand Years by one of Robyn’s sister’s best friends while she walked down the aisle which came as a ‘lovely surprise’.

Though for Robyn, who works as a dog walker, the best moment of their day were the speeches which left guests ‘hyping them up and laughing’.

‘My dad and the best man are quite shy people,’ says Robyn. ‘But it ended up being such a laugh. Everyone was laughing, everyone was hyping them up. It was lovely to see everyone in one room laughing all together.’

The newlyweds flew to Dubai for five days to enjoy a minimoon which was their first holiday since the Covid outbreak. However their ultimate honeymoon will be when the pair jet off to Thailand in November.