South African brand, Vagabond for Kestrel & Joe's South African nuptials

Their vision for the day was to have fun!

Whilst we are in isolation, at TDT HQ we are working hard on providing content and reading material to entertain you during these times. We hope to be writing features on you ladies as soon as we are all out of these crazy times! If you wore one of our TDT designers at your wedding and would like yo br featured, please submit your pics to features@thedresstribe.com and we will be in touch to hear more about your day!

These photos of Kestrel and her beautiful South African wedding are filled with laughter, happiness and certainly looked like a day to remember. Kestrel Entwistle got married on the 30th November 2019 in Franschhoek, South Africa at a religious ceremony with 110 close friends and family.

Kestrel and Joe's got engaged in the morning of 2018 in the Lake District after a somewhat merry evening at the Christmas markets. They were recovering from the festivities when Joe decided to go on a hike. Kestrel noticed Joe was acting strange when he 'fell on his knee' in what was not planned to be so dramatic but it all worked out since as they say the rest is history!

Photography by Nikki van Diermen Photography

What was your vision for the wedding?

It had to almost exclusively be a lot of fun for mostly us and secondly our guests.

What was the planning process like? Did you have a wedding planner or on the day help? At first Joe and I started planning the wedding alone. We secured a few of the main vendors within a month of choosing our date and thereafter handed over planning to Meagon Oosthuizen, our event coordinator to do the rest.

What was the hardest part of the planning process? My mom haha

What was the easiest part of the planning process? Having been to many weddings in the past we knew which vendors/suppliers we absolutely had to have. So our food, DJ, florist and to an extent the venue was locked down easily and without hesitation.

What was the most fun to organize? The food! Hello food tasting (because you really don’t get around to eating much on the night).

How did you decide on the theme/ colour scheme of your wedding? I am South African and Joe English so we wanted a mixture of the two with a floral focus on the Lake District (where we got engaged) - I trusted Lana, our florist, to bring that vision to life and double checked décor with her to make sure it would suit the floral art (which is exactly what it was).

Wedding dress designer: Vagabond Bridal

What was your experience in searching for your dress. Amazing and so much fun. My best friends took me to The Wedding Boutique to try on dresses and they carry the Vagabond brand. It was easily and honestly love at first sight.

How did you know it was THE dress. I just knew. It was the first dress I tried on and every single other dress after that paled in comparison. When I was certain it was the one I took my mom there one day for her insights, and when she saw the dress (and shed a tear) it was confirmed.

What other accessories did you wear? Did they have any special significance? I had the Vagabond dress as the ceremony dress and for the reception I changed into a skirt and bodice made by Elbeth Gillis. I opted out of wearing a veil in exchange for a headpiece (by Wimsy)which turned out to be the showstopper – I had it made by a lovely lady that runs a local business and she couldn’t have made a better headpiece. I have received 1000s of compliments on the headpiece. I also wore a pair of Romy Pumps by Jimmy Choo.

Brides bouquet? A massive bunch of white anthuriums.

Thoughts from your husband when he first sa2 you in the dress? His words: “I was lost for words to be honest and was extremely nervous, my heart was beating through my chest, but I just thought you looked amazing”

What advice would you give to brides in search of their dress? I’m not someone who particularly enjoys having a dress made from scratch, so I knew from the start I’d buy something from a range. I guess I was lucky that the first dress was the one I went with, but I’ve heard so many times that it happens. Just trust your gut – it’s never wrong. Some people enjoy to try on loads of dresses in their search, others don’t, you just do you.

How did you personalize your wedding to reflect who you are as a couple? We did everything the way we wanted to. We specifically wanted to spend as much time as possible with our guests so we only left for photos while our guests were having dinner. The music was very much drawn from our personal favourites. I think all in all the suppliers/vendors understood what we wanted and did everything to make us happy. If you’re having fun – you’re guests will too and I think over anything else having fun was the motto of the day.

Did you make (DIY) any of the décor / elements of the wedding? No, I’m terrible at that.

Ceremony venue: Dutch Reformed Church, Franschhoek

Reception Venue: The Conservatory Franschhoek

Why did you pick these venues? What drew you to them? What did you love about them? The Dutch Reformed Church in Franschhoek is absolutely breathtaking. Situated in the heart of the winelands it has the most beautiful garden with white roses and icebergs lining the walkway to the entrance. It’s not difficult to imagine yourself getting married there. The Conservatory is mainly a glass structure with an even more beautiful garden. The venue was also the perfect size for a 110 pax wedding.

How did you choose your wedding photographer? I think she was recommended through a photographer that was unavailable. It was really not a difficult choice after we stalked her website and Instagram.

Tell us about the activities around the wedding! About a week prior to the wedding, Joe's family and friends from England started arriving in South Africa for the wedding. We didn’t have any specific wedding events with them before the wedding but we both took time off from work to tourist around Cape Town with them. We had the ceremony and reception on one day. Our venue closed quite early midnight) so we decided to get married at 14h00 (which is early for South African style weddings).

Reception décor? The flowers were the most important for me (Joe couldn’t have cared less but allowed me to do what I wanted) and a fairy light curtain (which turned out exactly the way Iimagined). The rest of the décor I left in the hands of the suppliers, I obviously had the final say but I allowed myself to be guided by the ones obviously more knowledgeable than me.

What was your menu like? Any specialities? How did you choose the menu? We chose a supplier that likes to think out of the box – everything they prepare has a dramatic flair to it. The food was served in a harvest table style on all the tables and was as beautiful as it was delicious. For dessert we had a pancake and eton mess station where guests could help themselves. The canapes were various food stations my favourite being the one where guests could make their own mac ‘n cheese bowls.

Any signature drinks? Pimms and Lemonade (for the Brits) and South Africans pretty much drink everything

What entertainment did you have? Our DJ did a set for pre-drinks, during dinner and after dinner. He was joined by a saxophone player who just walked around the venue and through the guests playing his sax! One of the best elements of the night!

First dance? Baby I’m Yours – Arctic Monkeys

Wedding cake details (including flavor). No – we didn’t want a cake.