- Avarna Jain,
Chairperson RPSG Lifestyle Media
After The 'I Do', It's Time For The Wardrobe Switcheroo
Your ultimate guide to after-party bridal looks (and hacks to look fabulous while feeling comfortable)...
Deepika Padukone transformed her Zuhair Murad gown into her after-party look at her reception, while Sonam Kapoor Ahuja changed from her Anamika Khanna lehenga to a kaftan by Abu Jani Sandeep KhoslaInstagram
So you’ve got the perfect dress for your wedding reception or cocktail party, you’ve got the best shoes to go with it, you’ve got the jewellery you’ll be wearing with it, and you know exactly how you’ll be wearing it. You’ve done your hair and make-up trials, and you just know that you’ll be looking like an art installation that day.
But think again—are you missing something? The point of your wedding party is not just for you to look like a dream. It’s that, but also for you to have the time of your life, party like nobody’s business, dance the night away with your loved ones, without a care in the world. Doing that in your glammed-to-perfection-with-not-a-hair-out-of-place look might just pose a challenge (it will).
Picture this: You’re just a couple of hours into your party, but you can’t wait for the night to end already because your heels are too painful to be able to stand (let alone dance), your outfit is too heavy for you to move, and something from your dress is poking you on the back of your shoulder. We feel you!
So it’s important to also think about what you will be wearing after everybody has seen your perfection of a look, and it's time for some serious partying. We have put together some tips and tricks for you to learn, so you can plan a second look to survive the night.
How To Plan A Second Look For The After-Party To Survive The Night As A Bride
Transform your main look into your afterparty look
For the brides who are too cool to change into a different outfit, you can transform your main look into your after-party look. There are a lot of ways to do that. If your look of the night is a lehenga, you can get a cute custom skirt or pair of shorts that match your blouse, and change into it as the night progresses.
Stylist Meagan Concessio wore an Amit Aggarwal lehenga for her sangeet, and swapped the skirt for a matching mini skirt for the after-party Instagram/Meagan Concessio
If you are wearing an elaborate gown, you can get it customised to have a detachable skirt with a train as opposed to the skirt being attached to the bodice. You can remove the detachable skirt and train when you’re in the mood for some serious dancing, to reveal that the bodice is attached to a cute matching mini skirt underneath! And there you have it—it's the same look, but more comfy!
Pro tip: Drop the clutch for the second look in case you were carrying it with the main look. Go hands-free!
Change into a different outfit
If transforming your main look into an after-party look doesn’t seem like a possibility for you, you can choose to change into a second look. The second look needs to be something very comfy, but it should still have that main character energy, because you’re still the bride! There are a lot of routes you can take while planning an entirely different second look. You can wear something incredibly simple and understated, and glam it up with lots of jewellery. Exhibit A: Sonam Kapoor. For her reception after-party, she wore a simple ivory kaftan from Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla but glammed it with the same exquisite jewels she wore with her main outfit for the night! Super comfy, but still extravagant.
Sonam Kapoor wore an Anamika Khann lehenga for her reception and changed into a kaftan by Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla for the after-partyInstagram/Pernia Qureshi
If this doesn’t seem like your style, you can also wear something glam (very comfy, but also glam). We suggest a cute blingy mini dress that you can actually move around in, and that also says “I’m the bride!”. You can choose to wear little to no jewellery with it.
Alia Bhatt in a mini dress by Oscar De La RentaInstagram/Lakshmi Lehr
Points to keep in mind for planning a second look:
Needless to say, it needs to be comfy. Pick a silhouette that feels like your second skin. It could be a pair of shorts, a mini dress, a kaftan, or even a suit.
You won’t be doing your hair and makeup again for your second look. So, it’s important to make sure that the hair and makeup that you’ve planned for the main look also go with the after-party look.
Make sure it’s easy to get into. Anything that requires meticulous draping or fixing with a hundred safety pins is a no-no. You don’t want to be gone from your own party for too long changing into the second look.
Wear shoes that you can dance in! Wedges, ballerinas, sneakers…whatever works for you!
To help you make your pick, we have compiled our picks for the coolest after-party outfits for brides. You can thank us later!
Best After-Party Looks For Brides
Champagne Sculpted Sequin Dress, Gaurav GuptaGaurav Gupta
Buy it here
Ruby Metal Mini Saree Dress, Rimzim DaduRimzim Dadu
Buy it here
Coconut hand-embroidered dress, Arpita MehtaArpita Mehta
Buy it here
Mirror-work kaftan, Abhinav MishraAbhinav Mishra
Buy it here
Silk Embroidered Blazer & Pant Set, Anamika KhannaAnamika Khanna
Buy it here
Moulded metallic ruffled dress, Amit AggarwalAmit Aggarwal
Buy it here
Where we give you a fast-paced look into everything you should wish list when you start to think about marriage. What to buy and how to dress, along with modern mithai and the homegrown fragrance makers to bookmark. Make special note of the feature on alta.
It has everything you need to make your wedding special. From the big comeback of red and pink in bridal wear to how the cool kids are wearing corsets to the celebration, there is only one way to get ready for a wedding —with enjoyment.
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This needs very little description. It has travel with a special focus on incredible India, and a collection of wedding albums, sourced randomly, but collected with abundance because happiness has no limits.
