South African bride wows in R320 Temu wedding dress that looked anything but budget
Image: Instagram
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.
Video Player is loading.
Play Video
Play
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
-:-
Loaded :
0%
Stream Type LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque
Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
Advertisement
Video Player is loading.
Play Video
Play
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
-:-
Loaded :
0%
Stream Type LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque
Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
Next
Stay
Close ✕
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 wedding dress for R335 online.
Image: Temu
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.
IOL Lifestyle
Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The South African
9 hours ago
- The South African
Tyla stars in 'New Air Max Muse' campaign
Nike spotlighted global music sensation Tyla in its fresh Fall 2025 campaign for the Air Max Muse. This is a women's sneaker that has been turning heads since its launch. The campaign also features celebrated Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles. Tyla captured attention by highlighting what makes the Air Max Muse stand apart. 'I love the Air Max Muse because it's very stylish and unique,' she said, according to WWD . 'Because of the colours, the silhouette goes with a lot of things, and it's super comfortable. It feels like a running shoe, like a workout shoe, but it's not. It's something that you can wear out.' Her words underline the shoe's versatility, perfect not only for active moments but also for casual, everyday wear with a fashionable edge. The Air Max Muse draws on Nike's rich heritage of Air technology but pushes the envelope with a futuristic design. Nike's local fans in South Africa can look forward to multiple fresh colourways of the Air Max Muse throughout 2025. The shoe retails at about R3,199 and is available via Nike SNKRS and Shelflife, ensuring accessibility for sneaker enthusiasts here. Beyond footwear, Tyla is carving her path as a multifaceted artist. On leading the pack, she shared, 'As an artist, I want to one day look back and see that I've done more than just music. I want to do everything: creative direction, acting, modelling, beauty, hair. I just want to tap into everything I genuinely have a passion for.' This ambition complements her role in the campaign, standing as a symbol of bold creativity and individuality. Nike's footwear designer for women's sportswear, Can Eldem, expressed the brand's vision for the Air Max Muse. 'Our goal was to design an entirely new Air Max model focused on both expression and comfort. Making the silhouette uniquely hers, sleek, beautiful and bold, while offering the kind of innovation and cushion that she expects from the Air Max franchise.' For South African consumers seeking a sneaker that caters to both lifestyle and sport, the Air Max Muse offers an exciting option. With Tyla's unmistakable flair driving the narrative, the shoe is poised to become a cultural touchpoint for women who lead with confidence and creativity. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
TimesLIVE
11 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
Old cuts, new cool
Image: Luke Kuisis In an industry long criticised for its wastefulness, Cape Town-based label Good Good Good continues to chart a refreshingly mindful path, one where fabric offcuts are not discarded but transformed. For Spring/Summer 2026, the brand expands its innovative zero-waste Strip-Stripe Capsule, breathing new life into leftover materials through meticulous craft and vibrant design. At the heart of this sustainable vision is Daniel Sher, the brand's founder and creative director. His journey began in 2016 when he joined his mother-in-law's manufacturing business, Together MFG, where he started producing clothing under his own label. In 2022, Sher relocated his production to a new facility after Together MFG was selected to manufacture Christian Dior's collaboration with Thebe Magugu — a significant milestone for South African fashion. Along with the move, Sher brought with him the machinery and offcuts collected over six years, an archive of remnants that now fuel the latest chapter of the Strip-Stripe story. For their Spring/Summer 2026 collection, Good Good Good unveiled a playful, patchwork-heavy series of T-shirts, hoodies, trousers, shorts and outerwear. Made from 100% South African-sourced cotton jersey, the collection bursts with colour and texture. But it's not just what's made, it's how it's made that sets it apart. Every piece is crafted slowly and intentionally: offcuts are selected by hand, cut into strips, sewn together two at a time, pressed flat, and then added to a growing patchwork. Once large enough, this reconstructed fabric is cut into panels and sewn into the brand's signature silhouettes. This method is not only rooted in sustainability: it celebrates the tactile beauty of imperfection, built on the ethos of repair, reuse and revival. Alongside the capsule collection, the brand also debuts its latest collaboration with Parisian footwear brand Calla. Founded by designer Calla Haynes in 2009, the brand gained acclaim for its refined-yet-relaxed aesthetic. After pausing her ready-to-wear line, Haynes launched 'The Boucharouite Project', partnering with female artisans in Morocco to repurpose textile waste from the luxury fashion industry into handcrafted rugs. For this collaboration, Good Good Good combed through 10 years' worth of fabric remnants, many designed by renowned South African textile artists, and shipped them to Marrakech. There, Haynes' artisan network wove the offcuts into colourful boucharouite-style rugs. These were then cut into panels and crafted into a limited run of eclectic babouche slippers, each pair unique, steeped in story and global connection. As sustainability shifts from a trend to a necessity, Good Good Good offers a compelling blueprint for the future of fashion — one that honours local craftsmanship, reimagines waste as raw material, and dares to find joy in every scrap.
Daily Maverick
2 days ago
- Daily Maverick
The rolex gang goes gourmet — appetising, affordable east African eggs
Ever eaten a rolex? No, not the super-smart Swiss timepiece. The rolex of which I speak is Uganda's omelette and chapati bread signature sandwich. Devoured rather than worn, this nutritious and delicious street food is a play of words, referencing the cooking method whereby omelette and bread are laid one on top of the other and then rolled up to create a high-protein, portable pleasure. Still confused? Try saying 'rolled eggs' fast and frequently. The words will soon slide together into 'rolex'. Chapati, one of modern east Africa's staple starches, resembles a South African-style roti bread. It probably arrived in Uganda with Indian indentured labourers in the late 19th century. How, when and by whose hand eggs landed on top is a bitterly disputed regional food fight about which consensus cannot be reached. Fortunately, everyone agrees that this filling culinary combo is a national taste treasure. Eggs and chapatis are the only essential ingredients in a Rolex. Vendors and customers all have their own embellishments. Finely chopped onion, cabbage, tomato, chilli and coriander leaves are popular choices. As are hearty helpings of mango chutney and/or mayonnaise. Rolex is not only a cheap and cheerful street food sensation. It is also a beautifully balanced meal. In addition to being packed with protein, eggs contain choline (for brain health and cellular function), bone- and immune-boosting vitamin D and a rich, generous supply of healthy fats to support the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins. In recent years, bread has had a bad rap (wrap?) from carbohydrate-phobic foodies, but Ugandan chapatis are generally made with stone-ground, wholewheat, high-fibre atta flour, making them low-GI providers of digestion-supporting, blood sugar-stable and steady energy. The classic onion, tomato, chili and coriander combo is packed with antioxidants, and the tart tingle of vitamin C. While mayonnaise and chutney are not advisable in large quantities, a little bit goes a long way. The taste treat below is adapted from Ugandan chef Sophie Musoki's fabulous recipe. It includes lean beef mince, but I have made it without meat and the result is still deeply delicious. She also adds what she calls 'simsim' (protein- and vitamin-laden sesame seeds) and 'dodo' (which South Africans generally refer to as 'thepe' or 'imbuya'. In English dodo is amaranth and is, among other things, Gwyneth Paltrow's current favourite superfood. Healthy, appetising, portable, affordable and endlessly customisable, isn't it time you became a member of the rolex gang? Rolex Yield: 2 rolex (each can be cut in two, so for non-greedy people this will feed 4) 4 large eggs Salt and black pepper to taste 2 medium chapatis, homemade or store-bought (a South African-style roti, available in the freezer section of most Indian shops and many supermarkets, will do) 1 Tablespoon sunflower oil ¼ cup finely chopped onion ¼ cup chopped fresh tomato 1 chili, finely chopped (or more to taste) 200g lean beef mince (optional) 1 small bunch of dodo leaves, washed and finely sliced (if you have no dodo, thepe or imbuya you can use thinly sliced cabbage leaves) 1 small handful of toasted simsim sesame seeds Mayonnaise and/or mango chutney (optional) Method For each omelette, crack 2 eggs into a bowl, season with a pinch each of salt and pepper. Whisk to combine and set aside. Heat a chapati (or roti) on both sides in a non-stick pan for about a minute. You are aiming to make the bread warm and flexible. Slide it onto a plate and cover with another plate or a tea towel to retain heat. Repeat with the second chapati. Add to the first chapati and cover again. Fry half the onion over medium heat in a little oil until it is translucent and soft, about 2 minutes. Add half the mince and cook until browned. Then add half of the tomatoes, half the chopped chili, simsim and half of the leaves. Cook until the leaves wilt, about 5 minutes. Season with a pinch each of salt and pepper. Add the cracked eggs and swirl the pan to distribute evenly over the surface. Once the eggs are set on the bottom, flip with a spatula so that the other side cooks, about 1 minute. Move one chapati to a plate and top with the omelette. Starting with the edge closest to you, roll the chapati tightly over the eggs to create a log shape. This is your first rolex. Keep it warm while you speedily use the remaining ingredients and repeat the method to create the second rolex. Serve hot. DM
