Thanks to OnTheWight contributor and Isle of Wight Wedding Photographer Chris Cowley for this lovely story from the 2013 Isle of Wight Festival. Ed
A beach proposal at the Isle of Wight Festival I hear you say? That sounds like my kind of thing to photograph and luckily I was in the right place at the right time to capture soldier Luke David, 24, propose to his girlfriend Beth Smout, 19, on the fantastic Life’s a Beach stage (a man made beach complete with deckchairs and cocktail) on Saturday.
Luke and Beth who met whilst working at a bar in Nottingham had wanted to come to the Isle of Wight Festival for a while and when they saw that this year’s line-up included the likes of Example and Subfocus they bought their tickets.
Festival proposal planned
Luke had been planning his festival proposal for months but it was a moment whilst dancing on the beach to Island musician Derek Sandy (the singer who bought us ‘Welcome to the Isle of Wight’) that spurred him on:
“We were jamming in the crowd enjoying the music and the sunshine when I suddenly thought – this is the time – so I asked a few friends to keep Beth where she was as I slipped away.”
Beth had no idea what was going on as the Beach Events crew who created the beach at the Isle of Wight Festival whisked Luke backstage:
“I came out on stage and said to everyone “I hope you’re having a good weekend, I just need two minutes of your time. I got Beth to come down the front and then I popped the question. She collapsed to her knees and started crying — and said yes.”
Champagne celebrations
After Beth clambered up on to the stage for an emotional kiss in front of the crowd, the couple from Nottingham enjoyed cocktails backstage before re-joining friends to celebrate with champagne at the Zebra Lounge.
Image: © Chris Cowley – Isle of Wight wedding photographer
