South African bride wows in R320 Temu wedding dress that looked anything but budget

For many brides, buying a gown from a bargain online platform sounds nerve‑wracking, but when one South African bride discovered her dream wedding gown on Temu for just R320, she turned scepticism into surprise, joy and a whole lot of camera-worthy confidence.

How Sihle’s R320 gown became a dream come true

Sihle Gabela, 39, from Vosloorus, Johannesburg, told Briefly.co.za that she was initially hesitant to browse wedding dresses on Temu. As a technical‑support agent at an ISP, she and her partner had planned their civil registration wedding at Home Affairs on a tight budget. 

After meeting in 2003 and doing their traditional ceremony in 2020, they knew a grand wedding wasn’t financially viable with four children, including a baby.

When she added a wedding dress, shoes and earrings to her cart, the dress was originally priced at R550. To her delight, that price dropped to R320 by the time she checked out. Sihle couldn’t believe her luck at the bargain price and how it looked.

Her family’s reaction was priceless. According to Sihle, her mother and sister were stunned at how radiant she looked in the dress, and her new husband kept telling her how beautiful she was as she walked down. 

Grateful and impressed, she gave props to Temu for delivering quality and elegance at a budget price. 

Sihle revealed that she had bought from the platform at least four to five times before and had always received what she ordered, on time, and in good condition and her wedding dress was no exception.

I decided to take a look at other options available and was surprised at what I found - and all the reviews were 5 stars from happy customers.

A South African buyer wrote this in her review of her sequine spaghetti strap wedding dress for R335; " I love ,love the dress ,it is perfect ,very beautiful! Material is top notch!! The dress looks as shown in the picture. Definitely worth the money !! I'm a medium ,I took a medium"

Perhaps a new era has dawned in wedding attire for those who dare to take the risk.

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