Leah and Rana

A wedding by the water is made even more special when it’s a wedding at home like today’s handmade, beautiful celebration. Leah and Rana had their family and friend’s pitch in for everything – helped by the fact Leah’s brother is a professional photographer! The couple also included plenty of nods to Rana’s Indian heritage.

Leah recalls how she met her Rana. “I love Indian food, and would frequently go to an Indian restaurant in my area where Rana worked for the past few years. I was a very shy person, and Rana was very outgoing. Whenever I went there, he would always say something nice, but I couldn’t understand him because of his accent. His English is perfect but his accent can be a little tricky. Some days I could and some days I couldn’t make out what he was saying. One day he asked me if he could have my Facebook so that he could contact me. I gave it to him, and once he added me, I looked at his profile and at a few of his pictures which I liked. That’s when we started talking. He eventually asked me out for a coffee. But, being LDS, I don’t drink coffee, and so that is what I said, which could have been a little awkward. But then I added that I would be happy to have a milkshake instead. The answer caught him off guard, and since then we have been together.”

Today’s photographs are by Tim Coulson. I love the fresh take on photography Tim has- interesting angles made for different perspectives which made the story of the wedding unfold in a really interesting way.

Leah’s family were involved from the get-go. Leah explains “My Eldest sister, Karina did my hair for me (as well as the flower girls, mum’s, and pretty much the rest of the family’s) and she bought my shoes. Karina’s twin sister, Alisa helped me in so many ways. She came with me to try on the wedding dresses, and came to all the fittings. She organised my Hen’s night in which we all had fun (but I was sick after everyone left because I had eaten some bad chicken for lunch that day). She just put in so much effort and I love her for that. “



Rana and his groomsmen wore suits from Tarocash.


Rana’s Indian heritage was incorporated into many aspects of the wedding, including Leah’s accessories. “My jewels were from Lovisa, and again, some where handmade and sent over from India by Rana’s family. The bracelet was from India and the headpiece was from Lovisa”.  Leah wore a gown from The Bridal Outlet.

Of her photographer, Leah says “The photographer was my brother. He doesn’t like to edit his photos much, he likes keeping them as they are, capturing the natural beauty of the day. He lets the people do as they like.”

The bride and flower-girls arrived by boat. Leah explains, “I asked my Dad to drive me to the ceremony in his boat as we were getting married on Mum and Dad’s wharf.”


Flowers were by Kesh Coulson. Leak remarks “Tim’s wife Kesh did all the flowers, and got up at 3am to go to the markets. I had so many people come up to me and say how much they loved the flowers.


It’s easy to decide on an at home wedding with a home with a view like this! Leah explains “The venue was my parent’s house. It is a house on the water with beautiful views of the island across from us. It has it’s own private jetty, which is the place we were married.”


Leah walked down the aisle to Brian McKnight’s “Back At One”. “I had 2 of my nieces as flower girls. They were both so cute, but they both got nervous. I had previously told them that they need to walk down the aisle slowly, and we had practiced. They did so well while practicing, but when it came to crunch time, they were both nervous and were trying to hide behind each other. We eventually got them to start walking down, but they were sooooo slow. It was only about a 5 or 6 metre walk, but we didn’t get to the end of the aisle until the end of the song (3 minutes!).”



Special guests were part of the best memories of the day for Leah. “My twin sister, Rachel. She came all the way up from Melbourne and missed uni that day just so she could be there for me. She also made her boyfriend come too. Jess Tucci, my brother’s sister in law was amazing with everything she did in planning and organising.”


 Leah describes the wedding as “Very beautiful, made possible by many talented people and a combined effort.”








The wedding was catered by The Fat Goose ” The food was excellent, they were very professional and easy to have a conversation with. They made sure everyone was fed (including me and the groom, as we had gone away for photo’s and they made sure they saved some for us).”


 The cupcake wedding cake was made by dear friends Crystal D’anastasi and Leah Pollard.

Leah says “Pretty much the whole wedding was DIY haha. We did absolutely everything ourselves and with our family and friends.”

Guests continued celebrations at Leah’s parent’s home. Leah explains “The reception was held in the pool area and the downstairs room connected. It was good having it there, as it gave mum and dad the motivation to get all of their renovations and gardening finished, instead of procrastinating like they usually do. Seriously though, haha.”




Every family remember was involved with Leah’s brother acting as MC for the day.


 There was a highlight at the reception for Leah, she explains “A special part of the wedding for me was the part where my dad, uncle and sister sang a song for me and my husband. It was titled “I loved her first”. There are a couple of photo’s where you can see dad singing, and there honestly wasn’t a dry eye in the house afterwards.”


Leah and Rana used the same Brian McKnight song for their first dance. She remarks “We also danced to Back at One by Brian McKnight. We had rehearsed it only a couple of times, and the music actually started while we were cutting the cake. That means that we missed the beginning of the dance, but everyone loved the finale at the end where Rana dipped me over backwards and we kissed. It was perfectly timed.”



There were a few surprises too. Leah says “At the end of the wedding, some of the groom’s friends had put together a Punjabi dance for everyone, and that made our wedding our own, and very special.”



Congratulations Leah and Rana! Thank you for sharing your wedding day with us on Polka Dot Bride! Thank you also to Tim Coulson for sharing today’s photographs!