Is it a lehenga? Is it a miniskirt? It’s whatever the bride wants it to be

There was a time when the wedding after-party presented a bride with the opportunity to kick off her heels and wind down with her inner circle—a corner ballroom with a simple dance floor, Bollywood tunes on the deck, and custom PJs with the hotel’s disposable slippers as her outfit of choice. But the present-day post-wedding rager? It’s come a long way since its humble beginnings. The after-party now has special themes, curated menus, dedicated cocktail bars, and celebrity DJs. And the bride needs to look the part. Sure, you can swap those Louboutins for your Loewe x On sneakers, but the pyjamas just won’t cut it. Sorry brides, we don’t make the rules.  

Designer Kresha Bajaj confirms that the wedding after-party outfit is no longer an after-thought “and brides are spending a lot more time planning these looks now. They want to look super chic but also want to be very comfortable,” she says.

But instead of building a whole look from scratch, many brides are thinking more ingeniously, turning their outfit from the main event into a shorter mini or skirt set with a few smart tweaks. The trend isn’t entirely new, Deepika Padukone did something similar for her reception back in 2019, opting for a red, Zuhair Murad gown that had a detachable overskirt. 

But in the last year, designer Karan Berry, one half of Mumbai atelier Karleo, which specialises in custom white wedding gowns, has created many “convertible gowns that turn into something really fun for the after-party”. This could be a lace playsuit worn with an overskirt to the church that the bride can slip out of after the nuptials. “We had a salsa dancer bride who went with a shorter flowy skirt inside her gown, and the couple created a whole moment around this outfit transition. On the dance floor, the groom pulled on the overskirt’s ribbon to reveal the miniskirt underneath,” Berry says.

For Kuala Lumpur-based content creator Rishita Maddey Valiram, it was important that her after-party look held its own. But she also felt it would be a disservice to her Manish Malhotra sangeet lehenga to wear it for just a few hours. That’s when a lightbulb moment struck—she worked with the designer to create a matching miniskirt in the same colours and embroidery, which she could slip into for the after-party. “It was a creative twist that gave me comfort without compromising on impact,” says Valiram, who wore this bodycon mini with the same blouse and jewellery as she did for her sangeet.

Celebrity stylist Meagan Concessio had a similar idea too. Concessio wore a Banarasi ball-gown-style lehenga and bustier by Amit Aggarwal for her sangeet and switched into a matching skater skirt for the after-party.

The two most popular styles Bajaj has seen brides ask for are short skater silhouettes or bodycons, which they are happy to re-wear with palazzos, shararas and skirts after their wedding. “They prefer tiny straps over strapless styles so they can remain a bit more carefree,” she says. Bajaj, who designed every outfit for the desert nuptials of her sister, hospitality entrepreneur Karyna Bajaj, in Jaisalmer, also created a fun fringed mini with chain tassels and Egyptian-inspired embroidery for her after-party. “I wanted something sexy, playful, and easy to dance in,” says the bride. She loved it so much that she ended up changing into this same dress after three of her wedding functions! “It was impactful by itself and so easy to style—Karyna wore it with sneakers, kitten heels, and even bathroom slippers,” adds Bajaj.

Ultimately, it’s the convenience that’s making brides think more creatively about their after-party outfits. “The roots of this trend are in practicality, and some brides are even thinking of maximising the lifespan of their outfits beyond just one event,” says Berry. “But most importantly, this trend is really for brides who just want to have fun at their after-parties without any of the fuss.”