The Heart Bandits

What The Heart Bandits does

The Heart Bandits is a Los Angeles-based marriage proposal planning company founded in 2010 by Michele and Marvin Velazquez. The firm designs, coordinates, and executes custom marriage proposals for individual clients seeking high-touch engagement experiences, operating as a private, family-owned service business with the two co-founders as its sole full-time operators. Since inception it has executed more than 9,500 proposals worldwide.

The company's revenue model is built on two primary service lines: Custom Proposal Planning, which delivers fully bespoke end-to-end proposal design and on-site execution, and Pre-Designed Packages, which offer curated proposals at established locations. It has extended into adjacent offerings including Custom Designed Dates (broader romance occasion planning), Creative Proposal Ideas (add-on ideation services), and the Proposal Planning Academy, an industry-training program. The business has no disclosed technology platform, no AI/ML capabilities, and operates entirely on a services basis with no external funding.

The Heart Bandits maintains a distributed venue and vendor network spanning major US markets including New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Malibu, Lake Tahoe, Aspen, San Diego, Chicago, Boston, Napa Valley, Miami, Austin, and Honolulu, with select international reach to Cancun. Pricing is per-engagement and aligned with the luxury end of the consumer wedding market. Brand awareness is driven primarily through earned media, with placements in The New York Times, Forbes, Cosmopolitan, Good Morning America, and The Washington Post, rather than paid marketing.

Name

The Heart Bandits

Legal name

The Heart Bandits

Website

https://theheartbandits.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Heart Bandits is a Los Angeles-based, bootstrapped marriage proposal planning service founded in 2010. The husband-and-wife team has designed and executed over 9,500 bespoke proposals worldwide for individual clients seeking high-touch engagement experiences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Marriage Proposal Planning Services

NAICS

Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events without Facilities (711320)

akta.pro primary industry

Engagement & Proposal Planning (HSACABAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Full-Service Wedding Planning (HSACABAA), Pre-Wedding Events Planning (Engagement Party, Bridal Shower, Bachelor/Bachelorette) (HSACABAK)

Keywords

• Marriage proposal planning
• Proposal coordination services
• Custom date planning
• Romantic event planning
• Proposal package services

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Custom Proposal Planning: Bespoke proposal planning services tailored to individual client needs. Clients complete a proprietary relationship questionnaire to inform customized proposal concept development. Full-service execution including venue selection, vendor coordination, and day-of management.
2. Pre-Designed Proposal Packages: All-inclusive proposal packages pre-designed by the expert planning team. Available in various cities with standardized pricing tiers. Includes various proposal formats such as rooftop, picnic, helicopter, flash mob, and themed experiences.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Heart Bandits plans and executes marriage proposals for individuals and couples, delivering both fully customized proposals and pre-designed all-inclusive packages in major US cities. Planners curate concepts using a proprietary relationship questionnaire, then coordinate vendors, venues, decor, photography/videography, and day-of execution end-to-end. The firm also offers complementary creative proposal ideation and custom designed romantic date experiences for couples not yet at the proposal stage.

Product overview

The Heart Bandits operates as a marriage proposal planning company offering two primary service models: Custom Proposal Planning (a full-service tier where planners develop personalized proposal concepts via a relationship consultation and execute them with vetted global vendors) and Proposal Packages (pre-designed, all-inclusive packages available in select cities). The company also offers Creative Proposal Ideas and Custom Designed Dates as complementary services. The portfolio spans location-specific offerings across major U.S. cities including New York City (with 20+ distinct package types), San Francisco, Malibu, Lake Tahoe, Aspen, San Diego, and other destination cities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Custom Proposal Planning
• Proposal Packages
• Creative Proposal Ideas
• Custom Designed Dates
• NYC Proposal Packages

Named customers5 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Proposal Network Vendors & VenuescoreOthersThe company maintains a network of third-party vendors and venues to fulfill proposal package activities including photographers, videographers, musicians, florists, decorators, and venue partners. They invite venues and service providers to join their proposal network by emailing [email protected] with details about their services, area of coverage, pricing, and other relevant information.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Yes Girls: A direct competitor offering custom marriage proposal and surprise event planning services. Operates in a similar niche with comparable full-service model and similar target customer base of proposers seeking professional planning help.
• A Proposal They Can't Refuse: A boutique proposal planning company offering curated marriage proposal experiences in select cities. Comparable to The Heart Bandits through similar bespoke proposal planning services targeting the same individual consumer persona.
• Yes, I Do! Proposal Planners: A proposal planning service that designs and executes custom marriage proposals. Directly comparable business model, target customer, and service offering to The Heart Bandits' custom proposal planning line.

Broad incumbents

• The Knot Worldwide: The dominant wedding planning marketplace and media brand with vendor directories, planning tools, and content. Operates one step upstream of proposal planning and competes for adjacent customer attention and wedding-related vendor spend.
• Zola: A leading wedding registry, planning, and e-commerce platform serving engaged couples. Represents the broader wedding-services ecosystem that a scaled Heart Bandits could expand into post-proposal.
• Brides (Dotdash Meredith): A major wedding media brand that has featured Heart Bandits. Comparable through overlapping audience of engaged couples and editorial authority over the wedding and proposal content category.

Emerging players

• Bash: A marketplace for booking curated experiences, parties, and event professionals. Potentially disruptive as it lowers friction for proposers to discover and book proposal services outside of branded planners like The Heart Bandits.
• Elope Anywhere: A boutique wedding planning service specializing in elopements and intimate ceremonies. Comparable to The Heart Bandits through adjacent wedding-event planning for a similar consumer persona, though with a focus on small-form ceremonies rather than proposals.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/theheartbandits
• Facebookfacebook.com/theheartbandits
• Instagraminstagram.com/theheartbandits
• TikToktiktok.com/@theheartbandits
• Pinterestpinterest.com/theheartbandits
• Xx.com/theheartbandits
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-heart-bandits

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Heart Bandits