Winter Wonderland proposal for Portsmouth same-sex couple sparks big post-Covid wedding

For Paige and Bobbi Clarke, it was a huge relief to finally get married.
Paige and Bobbi Clarke tie the knot at The Tournerbury Woods Estate, Hayling Island. Picture by Carla Mortimer Wedding Photography.Paige and Bobbi Clarke tie the knot at The Tournerbury Woods Estate, Hayling Island. Picture by Carla Mortimer Wedding Photography.
Paige and Bobbi Clarke tie the knot at The Tournerbury Woods Estate, Hayling Island. Picture by Carla Mortimer Wedding Photography.

Seeing friends and family after nine months of shielding made their ceremony even more special.

With their 200 guests, the Portsmouth couple tied the knot at The Tournerbury Woods Estate, Hayling Island, on August 21.

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Bobbi, 27, says: ‘Our wedding was amazing. We wouldn’t have changed a thing about it. We’ve both got quite big families, and with Covid, we haven’t been able to see a lot of them for the last two years. I’m quite vulnerable, so it was really nice to see everyone.

Paige and Bobbi Clarke tie the knot at The Tournerbury Woods Estate, Hayling Island. Picture by Carla Mortimer Wedding Photography.Paige and Bobbi Clarke tie the knot at The Tournerbury Woods Estate, Hayling Island. Picture by Carla Mortimer Wedding Photography.
Paige and Bobbi Clarke tie the knot at The Tournerbury Woods Estate, Hayling Island. Picture by Carla Mortimer Wedding Photography.

‘You couldn’t get another person on the dancefloor. It was packed. We just danced the night away all evening.’

Bobbi and Paige met while they were on a teaching degree at the University of Chichester. They started out as best friends, and it eventually blossomed into something more. The couple planned their wedding before Covid arose and felt ‘very lucky’ to have not rearranged anything.

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Paige, 23, says: ‘It’s a stunning venue. It’s got a marquee for the evening, and it’s got a big grass area, and we got married on a deck. They call it the deck of love.’

Paige and Bobbi Clarke tie the knot at The Tournerbury Woods Estate, Hayling Island. Picture by Carla Mortimer Wedding Photography.Paige and Bobbi Clarke tie the knot at The Tournerbury Woods Estate, Hayling Island. Picture by Carla Mortimer Wedding Photography.
Paige and Bobbi Clarke tie the knot at The Tournerbury Woods Estate, Hayling Island. Picture by Carla Mortimer Wedding Photography.

The pair made most of their decorations themselves, from painting 45 wine bottles to hanging Chinese lanterns in their colour scheme. It’s quality time that brought them closer together.

Bobbi says: ‘Our colour scheme was mainly turquoise with then sunflowers dotted around. We decorated the whole of the venue with big Chinese lanterns. We had about 50 low hanging Chinese lanterns in all different blues like turquoises and light blues. It was really summery and vibrant.

‘It made us feel more connected to it rather than us just going and buying it and it being done. But I don’t want to paint another wine bottle again.’

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On a weekend trip to Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park, London, Paige got down on one knee on top of the Ferris wheel. It didn’t entirely go to plan.

Paige and Bobbi Clarke tie the knot at The Tournerbury Woods Estate, Hayling Island. Picture by Carla Mortimer Wedding Photography.Paige and Bobbi Clarke tie the knot at The Tournerbury Woods Estate, Hayling Island. Picture by Carla Mortimer Wedding Photography.
Paige and Bobbi Clarke tie the knot at The Tournerbury Woods Estate, Hayling Island. Picture by Carla Mortimer Wedding Photography.

Bobbi, a wheelchair user, says: ‘It was quite funny because the Ferris wheel was only dinky, and there wasn’t room for my chair in there.

Paige was arguing with the guy saying, keep the chair off, keep the chair off. I was thinking, why is she so funny about it? When she got to the top of the Ferris wheel, she proposed. She said to the man; you’re keeping it and left it there and threw me on.’

Paige and Bobbi are saving up for IVF, so they decided on a weekend in Camden for their honeymoon.

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The couple would like to thank The Tournerbury Woods Estate, Carl Parkinson from Parky’s Grill and Potato Bar, Fairytale Ending wedding planner’s, Hampshire Bars and Events, DJ Elevation, and family friend Tina for her cake and flowers.

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