Iona Crosby had the surprise of her life at this year’s Download Pilot Festival when her boyfriend unexpectedly got down on his knees and proposed marriage to her.
The couple first met 10 years ago when they were 16 in Donington Park – and have been together ever since.
But according to Iona, who lives in Perth, Scotland, they didn’t hit it off the first time they met, although her friend Eliot Robinson von Heanor would rather meet her than she would him.
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She said, “We were standing close together in the crowd. I was with my dad and he went out to do something and said to Eliot, ‘take care of her’.
“So we stood next to each other without a word. He kept asking me when different bands were coming on stage because he knew I had a lanyard with the times on me. Though I found out later, he had one too, but he used it as an excuse to speak to me.
“Finally, after about six hours, I turned to him and formally introduced myself and shook his hand. The rest, as they say, is history. “
But Eliot had the last word with his surprise proposal – only his mother Jane Robinson, who was also at the festival that weekend with Eliot’s sister Miranda, was present in the surprise.
Eliot Robinson (26) from Heanor proposes to Iona Crosby (26) at the Download Pilot Festival
(Image: Joseph Raynor / Nottingham Post)
Eliot said, “I didn’t have a definite plan to suggest on the download. We met here for the first time, System of a Down were headlining and it felt right.
“But with the pandemic and download canceled last year and this year, I didn’t think I would get a chance until it was announced that there was going to be a download pilot festival.
“We got tickets, I bought a ring and then fell on one knee.”
System of a Down was supposed to play the normal download festival until it was canceled in March.
The pilot festival currently taking place is one of the government’s test events to investigate the transmission of Covid at major events. This means that festival goers do not have to wear masks or social distance and can mosh freely.
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On the subject of matching items
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On the subject of matching items
Mama Jane, 53, said, “I think this is a good time to do this. Especially since Eliot normally works in Singapore but is currently unable to travel there due to pandemic restrictions.
“Iona’s expression was totally shocked, but it was beautiful.”
The 26 year olds are considering getting married in 2023 but they have yet to decide where that will be, but Iona wants it to happen in June, the month when the download usually happens.
Romance is definitely in the air. On Friday – the first day of the festival – Lauren and Jamie Mecaloon attended a humanistic wedding in front of the main stage.
They first met while downloading in 2008, and the couple have been attending the festival for a total of 16 years.
Although humanistic weddings have no legal meaning in England and Wales, and couples are also required to have a civil ceremony, they are legal in Scotland and Northern Ireland.