Inside the garden wedding of Melbourne cinematographer, Petra Leslie

“I wanted to follow my family’s tradition of not getting married in white; my mother married in a bright red pantsuit with a huge bow-tie shirt.”

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With its brightly-coloured bridesmaid dresses, romantic Merribee setting and very well-dressed guests, Petra Leslie’s wedding was a garden-scape dream. A cinematographer by trade, Petra and her husband Bodie’s wedding was inspired by a film by Luca Guadagnino. It was both “glamorous and strange”, an occasion brought to life with the help of some talented friends. Below, Petra gives us an intimate glimpse into her big day.

How did you meet your partner, and how did the proposal happen?

After sharing some cute words online (aka on Tinder), we met in a comfortable setting to both – the club. Bodie came to meet me while a bunch of friends and I were celebrating my birthday. What can I say, we hit it off.

For our engagement, we spent a lovely afternoon and evening on Sydney Harbour, eating fish and drinking wine. The next morning we awoke to a dramatic storm, but… it broke and we saw sun, so Bodie suggested we go for a dip. We popped our togs on and headed to the hull of the boat. Just as I was about to jump into the ocean, a dolphin popped up out of the water, right where I was about to dive.

I panicked before realising we were surrounded by a pod of dolphins. Bodie said “I’ll get a camera!” and beelined back under the boat. Back to the hull Bodie returned, and with dolphins surrounding the sailboat, Bodie dropped a knee and stated, “The dolphins are here for a reason” (hehe).

What venue did you choose for your wedding, and why?

There is a short film by the director Luca Guadagnino… with art direction by Pierpaolo Piccioli (the creative director of Valentino). The film is called The Staggering Girl, the end scene was the exact tonal resonance I wanted our wedding to feel like. Glamorous and strange; beautiful, yet a little uncanny.

After looking at multiple different properties – from lemon and olive farms to more established venues – we landed on Merribee. The gardens were glorious, and the owners were excited about letting us use the space and gardens in a slightly unconventional way.

We wanted every part of our wedding to have a different area, like unravelling a treasure map. Merribee has so many gorgeous pockets and parts to explore, it allowed us to celebrate such a beautiful location.

How many guests did you have?

110 altogether.

Where was your outfit from, and what was the process of sourcing it like?

From the beginning, I knew I wanted to follow my family’s tradition of not getting married in white; my mother married in a bright red pantsuit with a huge bow-tie shirt. Originally I had wanted to find a secondhand dress, but after months of searching and coming up with nothing, I decided to collaborate with someone.

I contacted the wonderful designer Karla Spetic who designed a beautiful ceremony dress. We decided on a cornflower-blue silk taffeta, cut on bias grain and scrunched in all the right places… and for a bit of drama, a three-metre bow and train. Karla is very talented and hilarious – it was honestly a pleasure to work with her. For the surprise dancefloor party, I changed into a hot pink taffeta dress from Aje – it had a Big Fat Greek Wedding NRG, in the best way possible.

What about your husband’s outfit?

Bodie had a tux made by Remy in Sydney. Remy is a fantastic tailor – I would definitely recommend. He’s the sort of tailor who won’t give you bangs if they won’t suit your face; knowing exactly what the vibe calls for and making sure you leave looking sharp. Bless him.

In terms of beauty, tell us about the look you went for on the day, and what your inspiration for it was. Did you do your own hair/makeup or hire someone?

I was lucky enough to have an amazing team for hair and makeup. I had Gillian Campbell do my makeup, opting for a natural, soft-glam look… light so you could still see all my freckles. Hair was by Taylor James, they were both so spot on.

What did you do to celebrate after the wedding?

Directly after the wedding, we invited a bunch of friends to come and have a ‘frennymoon’ at a beautiful house in Culburra Beach. For three days we just cooked feasts, drank, swam and watched the World Cup final. It was dreamy – and in hindsight, so important to wind down.

What kind of food and/or entertainment did you have on the day?

For food, we had Michaela and the wonderful team at Aplenty, who worked very closely with us to design a menu that felt like a delicious Mediterranean feast. We had octopus, gazpacho, fish in a cartouche and lamb ragu… for dessert, we had a flaming bombe Alaska (which we got to torch!).

For entertainment, we were spoiled by some of our friends who performed and played music for us. At our ceremony, Imogen Grist and Marcus Gorgon sung us down the aisle. At our surprise dance party, we had our close friend Ed from Shouse and his partner Alice play (under their fitting secret moniker, ‘Spouse’), and our friend and celebrant Bobby Vibe Positive also got on the decks.

… Our dear friends and beautiful couple, Angelo and Charlotte, serenaded us into the later evening. Everyone we had come on board in some way or other was an extended part of our community, so it felt wonderful to have so many talented and extraordinary friends play a part in our special day – especially our dear friend and photographer Claire. She has glorious, radiant energy, and took such wonderful photos on the day.