There are wedding planners, and then there are people who understand weddings the way a novelist understands character: from the inside out, with an instinct for what a moment is really about beneath the surface of what it appears to be. Devanshi Patel, founder of Shreem Events, belongs to the second category. She was nineteen when she launched the company in 2014, having already absorbed the mechanics of large-scale productions through internships at Wizcraft International Entertainment and work across the IIFA and GIMA Awards. More than a decade, 450 events, and some of India’s most high-profile celebrations later, the instinct that drew her in has not changed. What has changed is the scale of what she is able to do with it.
Shreem Events was founded in 2014 after you cut your teeth at Wizcraft while still in college and then consulted at 70 EMG. Most people take years to find their calling. You found yours in an events briefing room before you had even graduated. What hooked you so completely and so early?
My journey into the events industry began while I was still in college, through internships and projects with Wizcraft International Entertainment, where I was exposed to large-scale productions like the IIFA and GIMA Awards happening on an international level. That phase gave me incredible exposure to live entertainment, production scale, artist management, and the glamour associated with the industry. But somewhere during that journey, I had the opportunity to witness an extravagant wedding in Jodhpur across iconic venues like Umaid Bhawan Palace and Taj Hari Mahal, and that completely shifted my perspective. I realised that while large-scale events were exciting, weddings carried a completely different emotional energy. They were deeply personal, culturally rooted, and emotionally transformative experiences.
That was the moment I truly felt connected to this world. I am a very emotional person myself, and I found myself naturally drawn towards creating celebrations that were not only beautiful, but also seamless, meaningful, and emotionally memorable for families. After working as a consulting wedding planner with multiple companies, I eventually launched Shreem Events at the age of 19. At that stage, I had a lot of ambition, creativity, and emotion driving me, and while the scale and exposure have evolved over the years, that core intention has remained the same.
Even today, after years in the industry, I still feel like I am constantly learning. But I think what hooked me so early was the energy of celebration that weddings carry, the emotions, traditions, togetherness, and the ability to create memories that stay with people for a lifetime.
The name Shreem comes from Sanskrit, meaning abundance. That is not just a brand name, it is a philosophy. What does abundance mean to you when you are designing a wedding experience, and how does it show up beyond the obvious?
When my mother suggested the name Shreem, rooted in the Sanskrit meaning of abundance, it instantly felt far deeper than just a company name. For me, abundance was never only about scale or grandeur. It was about creating an atmosphere filled with emotion, warmth, blessings, beauty, and seamlessness. I always envisioned a life surrounded by celebrations, happiness, and meaningful human connections, where families could truly be present in the moment and remember those memories for the rest of their lives.
In the world of luxury weddings, abundance often gets associated with excess. But for me, it shows up in the quieter details. The comfort a bride’s parents feel knowing every guest is cared for. The calmness behind a flawlessly executed event. The personalisation woven into every experience. The emotional storytelling that reflects culture, tradition, and the couple’s journey. It is the abundance of thought, intention, and care that truly defines luxury today.
Behind every celebration is also an abundance of hard work, dedication, and people working tirelessly to create something unforgettable. At Shreem Events, we believe true luxury lies in making every experience feel deeply personal, emotionally rich, culturally rooted, and globally refined, whether we are curating a wedding in Rajasthan or designing an experience in Cannes or Dubai.
You have executed 450 plus events across some of the world’s most extraordinary locations. You have worked on Hardik Pandya and Nataša Stanković’s wedding, Allu Sirish’s celebrations, and were part of the Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant wedding in Mumbai. What does it take to walk into a brief of that scale and know exactly where to begin?
Large-scale weddings function almost like full-scale productions. Beyond décor and design, there is coordination across hospitality, logistics, artists, security, guest management, and creative production. Our focus always rests on three key pillars: experience curation, personalisation, and seamless execution.
When weddings operate at a larger scale, especially celebrity and high-profile weddings, there are many more layers that come into play beyond just design and logistics. From paparazzi management, media attention, guest privacy, and elevated security protocols to managing strong personalities and diverse expectations, every detail requires a far more thoughtful and strategic approach. As a celebrity-favourite wedding planner, I believe the key is to deeply understand the identity of the couple and their families, and weave that seamlessly into the overall story of the wedding.
Every family thinks differently, every culture carries its own emotional value, and every couple deserves an experience that feels personal rather than performative. At Shreem Events, we focus on creating weddings that are not only trendsetting and globally refined, but also emotionally meaningful and rooted in authenticity. Whether it is a celebrity wedding or an intimate family celebration, true luxury for us lies in creating original experiences that reflect the couple’s personality instead of replicating what has already been done.
Destination weddings are your forte, and you have taken Indian weddings to Cannes, Monaco, Dubai, Sri Lanka, and beyond. What do most couples not realise about what it actually takes to pull off a wedding in a foreign country?
Destination weddings are very different from traditional city weddings because the moment you step into a global space, every layer of planning changes. There is a vast difference in hospitality styles, vendor personalities, cultural understanding, operational structures, timelines, and even the way local teams function in every country. Beyond the extensive coordination, one of the most important aspects of planning internationally is building strong relationships with local vendors, tourism departments, government bodies, and regional agencies wherever required. At Shreem Events, we always try to incorporate the cultural essence of the destination into the wedding experience, so that guests are not just attending a celebration but are also truly experiencing the destination in an immersive and meaningful way.
Most couples do not realise that destination weddings involve far more than selecting a beautiful venue abroad. Planning internationally requires extensive precision across hospitality, guest movement, entertainment logistics, venue management, permissions, licensing, transportation, vendor coordination, and seamless transitions between multiple events. Every destination also comes with its own cultural nuances and operational challenges, which makes adaptability one of the most important qualities in destination wedding planning.
I would always recommend couples to work with planners who genuinely have global and destination wedding experience, because it is not only about creativity, but also about understanding the hidden logistics, local systems, and unforeseen costs that can arise during international celebrations.
Artist and entertainment curation is a signature strength of Shreem Events. You have worked with Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Guru Randhawa, Benny Dayal, and many others. How do you match the right artist to the right moment in a wedding, and what happens when the brief changes at the last minute?
For us at Shreem Events, entertainment curation has never been about simply booking a popular artist. It is about creating the right emotional and energetic experience for every moment of the celebration. My understanding of entertainment began much before weddings, through my early experiences working with the IIFA Awards and interning with the GIMA Awards, where I closely observed the music and talent industry. Over the years, I realised that an artist who sounds incredible on a playlist may not necessarily create the same impact live at a wedding.
The key lies in understanding the mood, audience energy, timing, and personality of the couple and their families. A soulful Sufi performance creates a completely different atmosphere compared to a high-energy Sangeet act, an intimate orchestra, or an international performer curated around a couple’s personal taste. We also deeply study guest psychology and event flow. A Sangeet usually thrives on high-energy performances, while a closing evening may require something more elegant, niche, or relaxed to suit the mood of the families and guests.
What has truly become our signature strength is that every artist lineup and setlist we curate feels different and deeply personalised. We focus not only on the performance itself, but also on how the artist fits into the larger visual and experiential story, from stage aesthetics and costume coordination to hospitality, backstage comfort, and overall guest engagement.
At the same time, weddings are live environments, and last-minute changes are inevitable. That is why contingency planning is extremely important in our process. Whether it was during COVID restrictions, unexpected travel disruptions, or geopolitical situations where artists were unable to fly in, we have always adapted quickly by reworking formats, sourcing alternate talent, reshaping genres, or creatively utilising available performers. In luxury weddings, the ability to adapt calmly and seamlessly behind the scenes is just as important as the glamour guests experience in front of them.
Indian weddings have evolved enormously over the last decade, in scale, in personalisation, in multicultural complexity. What is the single biggest shift you have witnessed in what couples actually want, and how has it changed the way you plan?
One of the biggest shifts has been the move away from generic, template-driven weddings towards celebrations that feel highly personalised and experience-led.
Couples today want every aspect of the wedding, from décor and entertainment to food and guest experiences, to reflect their personalities, cultures, and shared journey. Weddings have become far more narrative-driven, where every detail contributes to storytelling rather than existing purely for visual appeal.
You have said your aim is to make the planning process stress-free, enjoyable, and painless. But luxury weddings are inherently high-pressure, high-stakes productions. What does it actually take to hold that calm for a couple when everything around you is moving at full speed?
Luxury weddings are definitely high-pressure and high-stakes environments, but for us at Shreem Events, maintaining calm begins much before the wedding itself. I personally believe I have been blessed with a naturally calm personality. There may be a thousand thoughts running in my mind during an event, but I have learned over the years that the energy the planner carries directly reflects onto the couple, the families, and even the team.
A large part of creating a seamless experience comes from preparation. When your planning, communication, backend operations, contingency strategies, and team structure are strong enough in advance, a lot of the execution begins to function almost instinctively on-ground. That preparation allows the visible guest experience to feel effortless, even when there is immense coordination happening behind the scenes.
At the same time, empathy plays a very important role in wedding planning. Weddings are deeply emotional occasions, and every individual involved carries different expectations, sensitivities, and pressures. Managing those emotions while also leading large teams, handling operations, solving problems quietly, and ensuring everyone feels heard requires a great deal of emotional intelligence and leadership. For me, staying calm has never been something performative. It has become part of the way I naturally lead.
If a Shreem Events wedding were a destination, not a place you have actually worked in but a feeling, where would it be and why?
If Shreem Events were a destination, I do not think it could ever be defined as just one place, because the feeling of Shreem is a blend of many worlds coming together. It would be somewhere between snow-clad mountains and a serene and royal seaside retreat, a place that feels peaceful yet celebratory, culturally rich yet globally refined, luxurious yet deeply emotional.
For us, luxury has never only meant something materialistic or extravagant. True luxury is also found in rarity, authenticity, warmth, personalisation, and the ability to create moments that people genuinely feel connected to. Shreem is also celebratory and full of life. It is the feeling of watching a sunset by the ocean after a beautiful evening of music, or the warmth of being in the mountains surrounded by people you love while culture, hospitality, and emotions flow effortlessly around you. It is a destination where traditions are respected, creativity feels limitless, guests feel genuinely cared for, and every celebration leaves behind not just memories, but a feeling people carry with them for years.
You travel extensively to find inspiration for future weddings. What is the most unexpected place you have ever visited that found its way into a wedding brief?
Travel has honestly been one of my biggest sources of inspiration as a wedding designer and storyteller. Every destination carries its own energy, culture, textures, music, hospitality style, and way of celebrating life, and I naturally find myself observing how those elements can be translated into weddings in a meaningful and elevated way.
For instance, after experiencing the beach culture and sundowner energy in Saint-Tropez and Cannes, we incorporated live saxophonists and chic sunset party aesthetics into one of our celebrations in Cannes. A trip to South Africa inspired us to bring in live drummers and more immersive rhythm-led entertainment experiences. One destination that deeply inspired me overall was Cannes and the South of France, from the pristine blue waters and effortless luxury to the hospitality and lifestyle itself. It inspired us not only to create large-scale Indian wedding celebrations there, but even influenced smaller details like curated Provençal hampers featuring regional breads, jams, preserves, and artisanal elements as wedding giveaways. Similarly, the untouched coastal beauty of Sri Lanka inspired us to create weddings with uninterrupted ocean backdrops where nature itself became the hero of the celebration.
What truly makes travel inspiring is not just seeing beautiful places, but understanding how people live, celebrate, host, and emotionally connect within those spaces. At Shreem Events, we try to translate those inspirations into experiences that feel intentional, culturally rich, and deeply personal to the couple.
What is coming next for Shreem Events, and what is the wedding you have not planned yet that you most want to?
Going forward, the vision for Shreem Events is not necessarily about doing a larger volume of weddings, but about creating far more curated, immersive, and thoughtfully designed celebrations. Over the years, we have become increasingly selective about the projects we take on because we truly believe luxury today lies in personalisation, storytelling, cultural authenticity, and meaningful guest experiences. We want to invest ourselves deeply into celebrations where the couple and families genuinely value emotion, detail, hospitality, and creative thinking beyond just aesthetics.
As for the weddings I still dream of planning, there are many destinations that continue to inspire me creatively. I would love to curate celebrations in places like Tuscany, Greece, Morocco, and different parts of London and the European countryside, where culture, architecture, landscapes, and hospitality create an entirely different canvas for storytelling.
The dream is to work with more couples who want their weddings to feel less like a template and more like a beautifully curated reflection of who they truly are.
Follow Best List India for the culture, conversations, and ideas worth paying attention to.
