Intimate Events & The Holidays

If you have been following any of my companies (The Heart Bandits or Pop The Knot), then you already know that planning intimate events are my jam. I focus on planning marriage proposals for 2 and pop-up weddings for 25 guests or less. Being a planner specializing in intimate events is good for many reasons, but today, I want to focus on one important reason.

Intimate events are extremely popular during the holidays.

Marriage proposals are very popular between November-February. In fact, most people refer to these months as “engagement season” or “proposal season.” There are a few reasons that people love to propose during the holidays.

  1. Time Off Work – People that are proposing like to take time off to travel for their proposal or even to celebrate. During the holiday season, they already typically have time off.
  2. Be With Family – Holidays are a time for family. So if a client wants to propose in a way that includes family members or even wants to celebrate with family after, the holiday months are the perfect time to propose.
  3. Perfect Time To Create A Memory – The holiday season is all about creating memories. People already tend to look back and reflect on their special holiday memories so proposing during that time makes complete sense.
  4. Engagement Rings On Sale – Many stores offer holiday engagement ring specials giving people even MORE reasons to propose during the holidays.

Likewise, pop-up weddings (which are another way to diversify your business) are also pretty popular during the holidays. The reason being is that the target market for pop-up weddings are brides that are NOT looking for traditional weddings and ARE looking for a deal. So many of them choose to get married during off-season. Additionally, these brides love to have their pop-up wedding during this time too for several reasons:

  1. Get A Deal On The Venue – Wedding venues can be more affordable during the holidays when it is not wedding season. One caveat is if the venue also caters to holiday parties. However, not all wedding venues do that so you can definitely get a great deal during this time.
  2. Get A Deal On The Dress – Many bridal stores have sales on wedding dresses during “off-season” so a bride on a budget can find a great pop-up wedding dress for a bargain.
  3. Time Off Work- Most couples looking to get married want to take some time off of work for their wedding. Since they already typically get some time off during the holidays, this makes it the perfect time to say “I Do” with a pop-up wedding.
  4. Be With Family- Many couples want their families at their pop-up weddings and many families get together for the holidays.

So what are you waiting for? If you are ready to find out how you can diversify your income in your wedding business, check out these FREE downloads!

Free Download, “3 Reasons You Must Add Proposal Planning Services To Your Business Now.”

Free Download, “The Ultimate Guide to Selling Pop-Up Wedding Packages.”

How To Diversify Your Wedding Business

Whether you are a Wedding Planner, Florist, Photographer, Videographer, venue or any other type of wedding vendor, diversifying your wedding business is a must.

We all saw it first hand during the pandemic. Businesses that relied solely on income from large weddings sadly took a big hit. And while I pray this ends soon and never comes back again, none of us can predict the next thing that will come and impact the wedding industry.

That is exactly why diversifying your wedding business should be on the top of your to-do list. In fact, if you ask any wealthy person what their secret is, 9 times out of 10 they will say, “diversification.” It is critical to have income coming in from different avenues. So HOW do you diversify your wedding business? Here are a couple of options:

1. Proposal Planning

Offering Proposal Planning is such an amazing way to diversify your services. The market is huge and the earning potential is too. It is also such a great compliment to your existing wedding business! A photographer, florist, planner, videographer, or venue can easily adapt their marketing plan to start attracting clients looking to propose. And who will that client call to photograph their wedding day? Provide their wedding flowers? Plan their wedding? YOU!!

Download my FREE resource, “3 Reasons You MUST Add Proposal Planning Services To Your Existing Services NOW!!”

2. Pop-Up Wedding Packages

When I started my Proposal Planning company, The Heart Bandits, I knew I needed to diversify. Wedding Planning made sense but the market is so saturated and bridezillas are not my jam. So I decided to start a pop-up wedding business where I sell simple, streamlined pop-up wedding packages. This is a great way to diversify because once the packages are built, they are so streamlined that they are a really simple way to get a nice cash injection into your business. And these types of weddings don’t follow any traditional wedding rules. They are popular during off-seasons and they don’t take much time to plan. These packages are great for any wedding vendor to add on and pop-up weddings, microweddings, and elopements are all the rage right now due to the pandemic. When it ends, you will have a whole new source of revenue coming in!

Download my FREE resource, “The Ultimate Guide To Selling Pop-Up Wedding Packages“

The Heart Bandits Academy is the only educator teaching you how to become a Proposal Planner. Sign up here and follow my journey from being a Proposal Planner to educator teaching students around the world how to market their business to clients looking to propose.

Enrollment for The Complete Proposal Planning Blueprint Is Open!!

proposal planning

The Complete Proposal Planning Blueprint™ is open for enrollment for just a FEW more days.

This course is a MUST have if you are:

  • Wanting to start your own Proposal Planning business
  • A Wedding Planner wanting to add Proposal Planning services to your existing business
  • A Wedding vendor (photographer, videographer, venue, travel agent, jeweler, etc.) that wants to start marketing to Proposers
  • A Proposal Planner that isn’t getting as much business as you think you should

In this course, I teach you:

Module 1: Introduction to the Proposal Planning Industry (This is where I will teach you everything you need to know about the industry)

Module 2: Building your business foundation (Here I will teach you how to stand out in this industry)

Module 3: Getting started ONLINE (Here is where you are going to be creating your website, social media accounts, etc.)

Module 4: Getting started OFFLINE (This is where you will discover if you need a license, permits, etc.)

Module 5: Proposal Planning 101 (I am going to walk you through exactly how to plan a marriage proposal from A-Z)

Module 6: Create your Proposal Planning offering (This is where you are going to create your packages, price them, create all the documents you need to get up and running, and more)

Module 7: Proposal Planning Marketing Strategy (This is the big one – this is where I teach you everything you need to know about marketing proposal planning.  This can be applied to ANY industry that wants to focus on proposers!)

Module 8: Maintenance mode (Here you will learn how to make sure you continually get proposal clients and have a CONSISTENT source of revenue)

You will also get a Proposal Planning certification!

PLUS, you will get 3 bonuses:

🎊 Bonus #1: Secret IG Strategy To Get You In Front Of Your Target Audience Fast

🎊 Bonus #2: Case Study: Behind The Scenes Planning Of A Proposal From A-Z

🎊 Bonus #3: How To Re-purpose Your Content For Your Blog & Social Media

Learn more about the program or enroll here:

Do You Really Need A Blog?

A question my students ask me all the time is, “Do I Really Need A Blog?” And the answer is, “YES!”

Now I know why people ask this question. I think I can safely say that most of us don’t actually WANT to write a blog. And why is that? Well, because writing a blog is time consuming and quite frankly, it can get exhausting.

So why not just scrap it then? Well there are actually 2 very important reasons:

1) SEO

Writing a blog is a CRITICAL part of your SEO strategy. When Google (or another search engine) crawls your website, it is looking for relevant keywords and fresh content. If you only have a website and no blog, there won’t be any fresh content and there will be limited keywords. However, if you write consistent blogs, you are CONSTANTLY sending signals to Google that you are the authority on the subject you are writing on. You are adding keywords over and over again and adding fresh content. If you do this CONSISTENTLY, Google will reward you by ranking you for your keywords.

2) Establishes You As An Expert

Another reason a blog is critical, is that your blog lets your target market know you are an expert in your field. For example, if someone goes to a Proposal Planner’s website and they have no blog, they can only review the website and photos. But if they go to YOUR website that has a blog that covers all kinds of Proposal topics, you are going to appear like a true expert in the field. They will also spend way more time on your site because you have so much content on your site that actually helps them with their marriage proposal. And lastly, each blog you write is an opportunity to sell your services.

So now that you know you must include a blog in your marketing strategy, how do you get started? You can start by downloading my FREE resource, Checklist For Your Proposal Planning Marketing Strategy.

Want to take it a step further? Join me in my FREE Masterclass, “3 Simple Secrets You Need To Know To Effectively Market To The Proposal Planning Client.”

How Getting Featured In Media Can Boost Your Biz

My absolute favorite module of my Proposal Planning course is “Getting Featured In Media.” Why? Well because getting featured in media can really boost your business in ways you may not even know about. I want to talk about some of the ways that being featured in media can really boost your biz.

First, let me define “media.” Media is the main means of mass communication (broadcasting, publishing, and the Internet) regarded collectively. So this means TV, radio, print, and Internet.

When you are featured in media, there are 3 things that can happen that can really boost your biz:

1. Potential Clients Will See The Media

This is probably the number one reason people hope to get PR. When you are featured in a major media outlet, you are going to get your name in front of potential clients. Some of them may contact you right after the feature and some of them will save your information for later. They may even tell their friends about your services weeks or months later in conversation. So the more media exposure you get, the more potential clients will hear about you. Now this is an amazing benefit to be featured in the media, but not the only one.

2. Potential Partners Will See The Media

One of the things that typically happens when you are featured in the media that you may NOT think about is that potential partners will see the media. Now what do I mean by this? Well let’s look at my business The Heart Bandits. After I was featured in New York Times, I had restaurants, jewelry stores, and many other vendors reaching out to me. They emailed me to say they saw my feature and they wanted to collaborate with me. Creating a partnership can not only boost your sales, but can get you in front of a whole new audience.

3. Other Media Outlets Will See The Media

Unless you have been featured in a lot of media, this may never even cross your mind. But when you are featured in major media, there is a high probability that other media outlets will see it. Again, let’s take my company as an example. After I was featured in Good Morning America, I was contacted by the Oprah Network, Time Magazine, and LA Times. They wanted to feature me as well!

All of these reasons are EXACTLY why I urge all of my students to try to get media when they launch their Proposal Planning businesses or services. Not only that, but I walk them through my PROVEN techniques on how to get featured. And believe me, they work.

Just ask my student Jasmine from Jasmine Rose Events who just emailed me that she is going to be featured in The Boston Globe and she JUST LAUNCHED!!!!

If you want to find out how starting a Proposal Planning business can transform your life, download my FREE guide here:

How The Pandemic Inspired The Heart Bandits Academy

When I was 7 years old I turned my first profit. I created a neighborhood circus and I recruited the talent, marketed the show, sold tickets, and made money.

I got my first taste of being an entrepreneur then and have been chasing that thrilling rush ever since.

I know EXACTLY what it is like to be an entrepreneur with no business idea. Or an an entrepreneur with an idea but feeling much too overwhelmed about getting started.

I know what it is like to want something so bad but not have a clear path to get there.

Because of this, I always wanted to create a training program for entrepreneurs that wanted to follow my path and start their own Proposal Planning biz.

After spending a decade running the world’s most successful Proposal Planning business, and after receiving hundred is not thousands of emails from people all around the world asking me for advice on how to start Proposal Planning, I believed this was my next calling.

But I just never had the time to do it.

And then the pandemic hit. And my industry was ravaged by a blow of event bans and gathering size limitations.

I knew I had to step up.

I created The Heart Bandits Academy and quickly launched my first course designed to help Wedding Planners pivot their business and offer Proposal Planning. And in about a month, I am going to launch The Complete Proposal Planning Blueprint™which will teach entrepreneurs how to start their own Proposal Planning biz from the ground up.

In The Complete Proposal Planning Blueprint™, I teach:

  • Everything you need to know about the Proposal Planning industry
  • How to choose your Proposal Planning target market, niche, and style
  • Create a solid Proposal Planning Business Plan
  • Develop a business naming strategy and tools to create your website
  • How to plan a proposal from A-Z
  • How to price your Proposal Planning services
  • Develop a robust Proposal Planning marketing strategy
  • How to maintain the momentum and continue to grow

If you want to be the first to know about the launch, make sure to join the Waitlist here.

Avoid This Mistake That Can Cost You Thousands

There is one mistake I see aspiring Proposal Planners make time and time again. This is a mistake that can cost you thousands of dollars AND waste weeks or months of your time. That mistake is……signing up for a Wedding Course or Wedding Certificate program.

Now don’t get me wrong, if you are hoping to be a Wedding Planner then these courses might be just what you need. But a Wedding Course will simply NOT teach you how to be a Proposal Planner. Proposal Planning is its own specialty and if you are going to learn how to be a Proposal Planner, you need to learn FROM a Proposal Planner.

Here are the ways that Proposal Planning is very different than Wedding Planning

  1. Completely Different Target Market – Wedding Planners typically target females and brides. You will be targeting males.
  2. Different Marketing Strategy – I have spent 10 years marketing to the proposal client and believe me when I say, marketing to guys is completely different than marketing to a bride.
  3. Each Event Is Different- A Wedding typically follows the same itinerary. There is a ceremony then a reception with cake cutting, dancing, bouquet toss, etc. With proposals, things are always different. One day I am organizing a 50 person flash mob, the next day I am organizing a helicopter landing on a skyscraper, and the next working with the cast of The Nutcracker to create the perfect ballet proposal.

This is why it is CRITICAL that you learn how to be a Proposal Planner from a Proposal Planner. To get started, I have some free resources for you below.

What is the ONE thing you need to know to about Proposal Planning?

to know the ONE thing you need to know about Proposal Planning to be successful? Of course you do! And I am so honored to be in a position to be able to share that with you.

When I first started Proposal Planning 10 years ago, there were absolutely no resources out there for me.

There were no mentors, no courses, no content ideas, no guidance whatsoever. I had to figure out how to do everything on my own.

After spending a decade planning over 4,000 proposals and earning 7 figures doing so, I can say with absolute confidence that if you want to be successful at Proposal Planning, there is one thing you must understand…

Marketing to the Proposer!

I see so many mistakes from other Proposal Planners in this area. There is a misconception that simply putting up proposal pictures and saying you’re a Proposal Planner is enough and that if you do that, clients will just start pouring in.

But that couldn’t be further from the truth.

If you want to succeed at being a Proposal Planner, you must truly understand the Proposer. You need to understand their wants, their fears, and what motivates them to buy. And I know just how to do that. If that interests you, I have a great FREE resource for you. Download my Checklist For Your Proposal Planning Marketing Strategy here.

If you want me to show you how to set up your Proposal Planning business step-by-step AND teach you my effective marketing strategies, then join the Complete Proposal Planning Blueprint™ waitlist below.

Join the Waitlist here

Join my Private Proposal Planning Community

Do you have what it takes to be a Proposal Planner?

Being a Proposal Planner seems like it is all glitz and glamour. You see these really amazing proposals on Instagram and you think, “Wow, that looks like such a fun job!”

And it IS a fun job.

But the truth is, being a Proposal Planner is not for the faint at heart. It takes a special skill set and it is NOT for everybody. Find out if you have what it takes to be a Proposal Planner. Here are the top traits of a successful Proposal Planner:

Detail Oriented

Paying attention to even the smallest detail is probably the most important skill of a Proposal Planner. A marriage proposal is a once-in-a-lifetime event and there are no do overs. When you plan a proposal, you need to plan it perfectly – right down to the very last detail.

Organized

Being organized is a critical skill for being a Proposal Planner. You are going to be juggling multiple vendors and be in charge of many moving parts. If you are not organized, something could fall through the cracks.

Think Quick

Being able to think quickly will serve you well in the Proposal Planning world. When a huge gust of wind blows over your framed proposal message and the glass shatters, what do you do? You have to be able to problem solve very quickly if you want to succeed planning marriage proposals.

Professional

You are going to be working with many professional organizations and vendors so you need to be sure you have a professional demeanor. You should have excellent oral and writing skills and be able to communicate effectively.

Assertive

Being assertive is another important attribute that a Proposal Planner needs. Imagine that you arrive to the area you have a permit for and someone is already there with their whole family having a picnic. Time to firmly and politely ask them to clear out for your event!

Work Well With Others

This is another priceless skill. You will need to manage a whole team of proposal vendors and communicate with them in a manner that gets exactly what you need done, when you need it. Being personable goes a long way towards getting what you want.

Now if you have read this blog and you have decided that you would be a great Proposal Planner, it’s time to get started. I will be launching my Complete Proposal Planning Blueprint to walk you through how to be a Proposal Planner step by step. Be the first to know about it by joining the waitlist here.

proposal planner tips

Until then, here are some FREE resources to help you along the way!

4 Things You Can Start Doing Right Away To Start Proposal Planning now!

Join my Private Proposal Planning Community

3 Different Types of Services That Proposal Planners Offer

cancun marriage proposal

If you want to be a Proposal Planner or you are a Wedding Planner thinking about adding Proposal Planning services, this blog is for you.

For those of you that don’t know me, I own The Heart Bandits, the leading Proposal Planning company in the U.S. So I know a thing or 2 about Proposal Planning.

Now, there are 3 main types of services that Proposal Planners offer, and I am going to go over them here with you today.

1. Proposal Packages

What is a proposal package?  A proposal package is an “all-inclusive” package that typically includes a complete, pre-made proposal idea for one price.   An example of a proposal package would be a romantic picnic idea.  This may include a blanket, pillows, light appetizers, and wine and it would be sold for one all-inclusive rate.

Now you might be wondering, why would you want to offer a proposal package and the reason is that it can be a great cash injection to your business. 

You do a lot of front-end work to create the packages but then you sell them over and over again.

2. Custom Proposal Ideas

If you are the creative type, and you probably are if you are considering Proposal Planning, then this is the fun stuff.  With this service, the client pays you to dream up unique, memorable, and romantic proposal ideas.  They pay you for your time and expertise and you deliver them with great proposal concepts.

3. Custom Proposal Planning

What is a great idea without execution?  Absolutely nothing!  Custom proposal planning is where you turn the idea into reality with your flawless execution.

Some Proposal Planners offer just one of these and some offer all 3.  You could do whatever it is that you like, they all have their pros and cons.

If you think Proposal Planning might be for you, I have some resources to help you get started.

Private Community – Proposal Planning Academy Tribe

Top 3 Reasons You MUST Add Proposal Planning Services Now

4 Things You Can Start Doing TODAY TO Get Started Proposal Planning

Proposal Planning: The Heart Bandits

Photography: Cancun Studios