THE FARM YARRA VALLEY · MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

Rangi & Pras

THE THIRD CHAPTER

Chapter / Before the Farm

Two houses

Glass bricks cast a patterned light inside Pras’s house
Pras shaves, seen through the reflection in the bathroom mirror
Two men with a box meet in the doorway
Pras’s pink bow tie against his navy jacket
Pras looks down at an open scrapbook on the red sofa
Powerlines cross the sky above a suburban street
Rangi’s dress hangs in the window above the curtains
Framed family photographs on a shelf
Rangi is reflected in the mirror during preparations
A woman holds a child in the lit doorway
A close-up of lipstick being applied
Rangi smiles with her eyes closed as she hugs a friend in a pink robe
Hands fasten the buttons down the back of the wedding dress
Rangi lifts her chin while a woman fastens her dress
Two flower girls in white, one with her hands at her flower crown
Rangi stands in her lace dress against a green hedge
Rangi breaks into a grin

Chapter / At the Farm

In front of everybody

The Farm and its marquee below a blue and white sky
Pras waits beneath the veranda arch
Rangi beside the cream Mustang, her veil falling behind her
Ribbons trail over the grass at a flower girl’s feet
Two flower girls hurry up the aisle past the guests
Rangi walks up from the vineyard with her father
Rangi and her father embrace as Pras looks on
Rangi and Pras beneath the flowers on the veranda
Rangi and Pras hold hands
A flower girl touches her crown during the ceremony
Rangi smiles at Pras during the ceremony
The couple and their guests from the edge of the veranda
Rangi looks at Pras as he speaks
Rangi cups Pras’s face as he holds a microphone
Rangi reads from a sheet of paper
Hands exchange a ring
Pras dips Rangi back for a kiss under the arch
Rangi leans over Pras as he signs the register
Confetti flies as Rangi and Pras walk down the aisle
Rangi hugs her father
An older guest smiles at the couple
Rangi closes her eyes in a hug in the crowd

Chapter / Beyond the lawn

The grass can have us

The paddock and trees beyond the gathering
The wedding party walks away beneath a tree
Rangi and Pras lean together under an expanse of blue sky
Pras’s hand rests against the lace back of Rangi’s dress
Rangi holds open a small booklet
The couple walk through the dry grass, seen from the waist down
Trees reflected in the dam
Rangi and Pras hold each other beneath hanging branches
Cattle stand in the dry paddock
Rangi gathers her skirt as she moves through the grass
Rangi and Pras appear in silhouette through backlit grass
The edge of Rangi’s dress on the grass
Rangi and Pras lie on their backs and turn towards each other
Rangi laughs lying in the grass with one arm over her head
Rangi and Pras stand by the dam beneath a darkening sky
Rangi’s hand holds a fold of lace
Rangi stands by the water under the clouds
Rangi looks back over her shoulder, with the water and trees soft behind her
Rangi and Pras embrace at the water’s edge
Rangi laughs with Pras in the paddock
The couple walk hand in hand beside the dam
Rangi and Pras face each other against the reflected sky
The couple’s footsteps in the grass as they head back

Chapter / The marquee

A very good time to be inside.

Storm clouds gather above the pale marquee roof
A table setting and chairs beneath the canvas
The empty marquee viewed down its centre aisle
The scalloped edge of the marquee and its guy ropes
A groomsman kicks up one foot as he enters with a bridesmaid
Rangi lifts her bouquet overhead as she and Pras enter
A child watches from a guest’s arms
Rangi feeds Pras a bite of cake
The couple’s hands on the cake knife
Rangi’s father speaks with a microphone and notes
A guest in a red sari throws her head back laughing
Rangi reaches towards Pras as she laughs at the table
Pras’s parents stand together with notes beside the reception banner
Rangi and Pras embrace family at the head table

Chapter / After dusk

The light stays on

A string of lights cuts across the evening sky
A bank of clouds catches the last warm light
The first bulbs glow above the dark marquee roof
Rangi and Pras stand at the table watching the wedding film
A bridesmaid speaks while the women beside her listen
Rangi laughs beside Pras at the head table
A close embrace during the speeches
The best man reads from a page
A guest smiles from his seat during the speeches
Rangi and Pras with the microphone beneath the sweeping marquee canvas
The lit wedding marquee seen from outside
Rangi laughs with a hand on Pras’s shoulder as he holds the microphone

Chapter / The last dances

One more minute

Rangi dances with her father
Pras leads Rangi across the dance floor beneath the lights
The couple move through a turn on the open floor
Pras dips Rangi into the light
Rangi and Pras hold each other in the dark, edged by light
Lights trace loops across the marquee roof
A small flower girl raises an arm on the dance floor
Two guests dance together beneath the streaked lights
A guest in red lifts both hands above her head
A guest leans into a dance step, both arms out
Guests laugh beneath the streaks of warm light
Clouds above the trees after dark
Rangi and Pras in silhouette against a burst of amber light