What Is A Pop-Up Wedding Bomber?

We all know what photo bombers are right? Those annoying people that walk by right as you go to take a photo. You often don’t notice them until you go to post your perfect Instagram photo and see that you’ve been photo bombed. So what is a pop-up wedding bomber? Or a proposal bomber? Well, you are probably thinking that I am referring to someone that gets in the way of pop-up wedding or proposal pictures. But no…this type of bomber is much worse. I am talking about a person that is NOT your client, that gets in the way of you planning your perfect event.

Here are 3 things you need to know about a pop-up wedding or proposal bomber and what you can do if you find yourself dealing with one.

1. They Are Usually Family

Normally, the well meaning pop-up wedding or proposal bomber is a close friend. Oftentimes, the bride or proposer introduces the bomber by saying something like, “I am cc’ing my mom here who is helping me plan.”

What can you do when this happens? I like to politely greet the new person and just remind my client that the contract is between myself and them so the planning does need to between us two. I do let them know that I am happy to keep the person cc’d though. However, this can turn into a big problem so you want to tread carefully here. (see points 2 & 3 below).

2. Try To Make Changes

Now where the trouble really happens is when the well intended bomber starts making “suggestions” on things they know your client will like. For example, “I know she would want her Grandma to sit up front.” Or for a proposal, “I know he would want a heart shape instead of a semi-circle.” But what happens when your client really didn’t want these changes?

What can you do? If I get put in the position to work with a bomber, I tell them that any changes have to come directly from the bride or proposer. I will not take any direction from someone that is not my client. And what about if the bomber is on-site making changes and it is too late to get approval from the client? In that case, you have 2 options. You can tell them that the way things are is what you have approval for and you cannot make changes. Or if the bomber has been an issue the whole time, you can ask your client in advance if they have permission to make any changes on the day of.

3. Time Suckers

The last and the most egregious issue a bomber will cause you, is they will suck up way too much of your time. Once the bomber gets direct access to you, they may start emailing or calling to ask “quick questions.” They may request phone calls to “go over details.”

What can you do? Again I would politely let the bomber know that you have to stick with planning directly with the client that you are under contract with. Then you can say that you’d be happy to schedule a call with the client and they are welcome to be on the call if they’d like. That way you are letting them be involved but staying in charge of your event.

If you are not yet a Proposal Planner or selling pop-up wedding packages, you won’t want to miss my FREE resources below. Learn all about how to be a Proposal Planner and how to sell pop-up wedding packages.

A Mistake I Made That Cost Me Thousands

When I started one of the world’s first Proposal Planning companies 11 years ago, I made a lot of mistakes. After all, I didn’t have a mentor. There were no resources out there to help me get started. And there were certainly no courses out there to teach me the best way to get clients.

So I spent several years NOT doing something that I now know could have earned me thousands and maybe hundreds of thousands of dollars. And that one thing is, having an email list. What is an email list? An email list is a collection of emails that you have received through your inquiries.

Why Do You Need An Email List?

Potential clients will come to you at all different phases in the buying cycle. Here are the 4 stages of the buying cycle:

  1. Awareness – This happens when a client finds your website and your marketing educates them that they have a problem.
  2. Consideration – At this phase, they know they have a problem and they are considering their options
  3. Intent – During this stage, they are ready to make a decision
  4. Purchase- They are ready to make a purchase

Why Does This Matter?

It matters because that means if a client visits your website at any stage in the buying cycle OTHER than when they are ready to purchase, there is a chance that they will browse your site and move on. They may never return again. However, if you capture their email, you can continue to market to them and nurture that lead. This ensures that when they are ready to purchase, you are in the forefront of their mind.

Interested in learning more about selling pop-up wedding packages or becoming a proposal planner? Download one of my FREE resources below.

What Is A Pop-Up Wedding?

Microweddings….the buzz word of 2021.

I started my pop-up wedding company back in 2016. This was before the pandemic and before microweddings became such a huge trend. But while a microwedding is typically just a scaled down wedding, a pop-up wedding is a bit different.

Here are the characteristics of a pop-up wedding:

  • Experience is quick, typically an hour
  • Small guest count, usually 25 or less
  • Inclusive of wedding essentials (venue, officiant, photographer, and bouquet)
  • Offers upgrades or enhancements
  • Affordable

Now we all know couples that want huge lavish weddings. We also know couples that want to elope. But who actually wants to book a pop-up wedding? The truth is…. a lot of people do. Here are a few reasons that people want a pop-up wedding versus a traditional wedding. Because they:

  • Want to save money
  • Want to avoid spending months or longer on planning their wedding
  • Want to eliminate family drama over who is invited and who is not

Pop-up weddings are great to add to your existing services because they are streamlined and can provide a quick cash injection into your business.

Want to learn if pop-up weddings are for you? Check out my free resource below:

If Proposal Planning is more your jam, I have some freebies for you too!

How I Went From Proposal Planning To Pop-Up Weddings

pop up wedding planning
pop-up wedding planning

I am most known for starting one of the world’s first Proposal Planning companies, The Heart Bandits. But what you might not know is that in 2016 I launched Pop The Knot™, one of the first pop-up wedding planning companies. Now you might be wondering, how did you go from Proposal Planning to planning pop-up weddings?

After spending 6 years on creating The Heart Bandits you see today, I felt like I had taken it as far as it could go. And just like many of you entrepreneurs, I wanted more. I started wondering, “what’s next?”

I started to get that craving like so many of us do and started thinking, “how can I diversify my income?” “what else can I do that is new?” etc. I noticed that there were a lot of really outdated elopement packages, a lot of amazing traditional and high-end wedding services, and not a lot in between.

So I created Pop The Knot to fill that gap. Since then, my company has been featured in New York Times, Brides Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Fortune and much more. And more importantly, I added another 6 figure income to my bottom line JUST by creating and selling pop-up wedding packages.

What is a pop-up wedding?

A pop-up wedding is a quick and easy 1 hour experience that allows up to 25 guests. The ceremony is about 15 minutes and the rest of the time is for fun and photos. Other similar experiences are microweddings, elopements, and minimonies.

Whether you are new to the wedding industry or you have been in it for years, you should consider adding pop-up wedding packages to your services.

Reasons you should plan pop-up weddings:

1) Pivoting during the pandemic

The sad reality is that the event industry took a big hit during the pandemic. We don’t know when full-scale weddings will be back in some cities so having pop-up packages readily available can be just the cash injection you need to maintain your business. And the good news is, once the packages are up and running, even if things go back to normal you will have this new stream of revenue.

2) Diversify Your Income

Maybe you live in a city where full-scale weddings are already back. Creating pop-up wedding packages is still a great way to diversify your income

3) Earn Additional Revenue With A Lot Less Work

Creating the pop-up wedding packages does take some work on the front-end. But once they are up and running, they require a LOT less work than coordinating a full wedding. In fact, I have 3-4 email templates I send out and then one final itinerary. Easy peasy.

In a couple weeks, I am holding a FREE Masterclass called, “3 Simple Ways Selling Pop-up Wedding Packages Can Increase Your Revenue, Decrease Your Workload, & Diversify Your Income.” Grab your free spot here or click the link below.

Be Fearless

be fearless
be fearless

I have learned a lot about myself since I launched Proposal Planning Academy. I started the academy knowing that I am an expert at creating a successful Proposal Planning business. I know that I can absolutely attract clients that are looking to propose to their partner’s and teach other people how to do the same. But what I didn’t realize, and what I have learned from my students, is that when it comes to my business – I truly am fearless.

What does being fearless in my business mean to me? Well, it means a few things. I want to share with you what I feel it means to be fearless in business in hopes that it may inspire even the slightest shift in your mindset to help you grow in your business.

1. Not Being Afraid To Take Risks

I say this a lot but it’s true, when I started The Heart Bandits, people used to laugh at me. They told me no one would ever hire a Proposal Planner and that what I was doing was ridiculous. 10 years later and 4000 proposals in, I can safely say I have proven them all wrong. But when I started the Proposal Planning Academy, more self doubt tried to creep in. “Am I crazy for teaching others how to compete with me?” “What if no one wants to learn how to be a Proposal Planner?” But instead of listening to the negative thoughts, I told them to go pound sand and defaulted to my motto, “the only true failure is never getting started.” I took the risk, I always do, and it is already paying off.

2. Not Being Afraid To Ask For What I Want

I never realized this about myself, but I ALWAYS ask for what I want. Though I am not a fan of rejection and it always stings a little, it doesn’t bother me enough to ever stop me from asking for what I want. In fact, my mom taught me when I was little, “What’s the worse anyone can do, say no?” I really believe this is something that sets me apart from the people that want to be successful but just can’t quite get there. And I believe it is something that a lot entrepreneurs possess that many others do not. This fearlessness gave me the courage to just outright ask the New York Times to feature me, it allows me to get deals with venues and vendors at rates that were not even offered to me because I am not afraid to negotiate, and so much more.

3. I Am True To Myself

How is this being fearless? Well, I think I am a little weird! I am very outspoken, I don’t have much of a filter, and I feel that I am 100% myself to everyone at all times. It is my downfall and my strength. It can turn off people and it can inspire people. I will talk about my messy hair on a Facebook Live. I will warn you that my son may chuck a truck at me during our conversation. I can’t help but keep it real. And I think it takes a certain level of fearlessness to be 100% real in business. I also believe it can also truly add value to your business when you just show up as your real, authentic self and build true, genuine connection.

I want to challenge you today to think of one thing in your business that you can try to work on being more “fearless” about. Is it adding a new service to your existing business like Proposal Planning? Is it charging that higher rate? Is it turning down jobs that don’t truly light you up? And think about how changing this one thing would it transform your business. I want to hear your one thing, so head over to my private group and let me know what is the one thing you can work on. I want to cheer you on!

Follow me on my journey from Proposal Planning expert to educator. I am learning a lot and you will too. Follow my journey here!

6 Easy Self Care Tips For Wedding Planners That You Can Start Today

tips for wedding planners
tips for wedding planners

As wedding planners, we work hard and pour ourselves into planning and designing weddings. All too often, wedding planners give their time and their energy to their clients and their business, without taking time to recharge and relax. Over time little shortcuts to get more out of the day like getting fast food take-out for dinner, skipping a yoga class or having an extra glass of wine can add up and take a toll on your wellness and mental health. It is important to take care of yourself so you can be your best for your clients.

 Here are six easy self care tips you can start doing today:

  1. Meditation is a wonderful way to calm an anxious mind, re-focus and feel refreshed. As little as five minutes a day can make a huge difference in how you feel. Meditation doesn’t have to be structured, planned out or led by a live person. There are apps for your phone (such as Simple Habit, Calm and Headspace) that make it easy to get started and meditate anywhere. Try it before you get out of bed, in the middle of the day when you need a break or at night before going to sleep.
  2. Eating well is essential to taking care of yourself. What they say is true, you are what you eat. If you eat heavy and unhealthy foods, you will feel sluggish and unhealthy. Don’t skip meals, even when you are tempted to by a fast approaching wedding date. Be sure to include plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables in your meals. You can cut these all up on Sunday and that will make it easy to grab and snack on during the week. Meal subscription services such as SunBasket and Green Chef make it easy to quickly cook delicious and healthy meals at home, without spending time grocery shopping.
  3. Regular exercise has many wellness and physical health benefits. Exercise gets your blood pumping, burns calories, takes your mind off of work, increases your energy during the day and helps you sleep better at night. A bonus of exercising outside in the sun is getting vitamin D from the sun. Even if you can’t squeeze in a full workout every day, a ten minute walk around the block is a great way to get away from your computer, take in fresh air and clear your mind. If you need to exercise inside, check out the free app FitOn for tons of different workouts.
  4. A good night of sleep can have a tremendous impact on your day, focus and overall well being. Going to bed at the same time each night and waking up at the same time each morning will help you wake up more easily and feel less tired. When you have a good night of sleep you feel ready for the day, are more creative, are more focused and can do your best work for your wedding clients.
  5. Journaling is the perfect place to jot down your thoughts for the day, reflect on what brought you joy and be grateful for the big and small things in your life. I’m not talking about a Dear Diary type of journal here. I’m talking about a gratitude journal and acknowledging the positive pieces (big and small) of your day and life. This is very powerful for mental wellness and self-care. Even on days when your clients are freaking out because they have to think about a rain plan, it’s important to reflect on the positive pieces of that day and be thankful. If you don’t know where to start, just write: I am thankful for_______(fill in the blank) over and over. You’ll be surprised how easy it will become to list out what you are grateful for.
  6.  Spend time with your friends and family that bring you joy (and skip the ones that don’t). As wedding planners, we are often at our computer for hours alone and work at home. People are social creatures. Interacting with other people helps to stimulate new ideas, build relationships and feel part of a community. Be sure to make time in your schedule to spend with your friends and family that uplift you and make you feel good. Going to dinner or a hike together is a great way to turn off work and spend time together. 

Do you want more quick self care tips?
>>> Grab my free list 25 Ways To Recharge During Wedding Season (or any time)

Lindsey is the go-to marketing and business strategist for wedding planners who want to be fully booked with wonderful clients. She provides doable, focused, action steps based on her many years as a wedding planner. Based in Napa, Calif. she is a Bay Area native with a passion for outdoor adventures and travel. Lindsey’s weddings and expertise are featured on CNN.com, The New York Times, Style Me Pretty, Brides, The Knot Yours Truly book and more. Check out her wedding planner coaching business and get marketing tips for wedding planners on her website lovelydaystrategy.com

Proposal Planning During The Pandemic

proposal planning during the pandemic
proposal planning during the pandemic

I just wrapped up my 4th FREE masterclass this week called, “3 Simple Secrets You Need To Know To Effectively Market To The Proposal Planning Client.” (If you missed it and want the replay in the next 48 hours, email me at info@theheartbanditsacademy.com) One of the questions that my students kept asking is, “Are you still planning proposals during the pandemic?” And the answer is, YES!!!

I’ll be honest, in March when the pandemic first hit it shook the entire world. No one was calling that month to get engaged. Everyone was in shock and getting used to our new world. And as a business owner, I was using that time to brainstorm how I could pivot my business when people were ready to buy again – just like you!

Fortunately for me, proposals typically only involve the couple, so we were able to get back to work pretty quickly. And you know what, I think the pandemic made people realize even more that they were with the right person, because we got very busy. But still, things looked a bit different. Instead of renting out elaborate venues, our clients were asking us to come to their homes and either completely transform the inside OR to decorate the facade of their houses. I actually found it refreshing to be able to plan such intimate proposals in the environment where the couple had shared so many memories.

When things opened a little more, we started doing really pretty setups on the beach, parks, airbnb’s, hotel rooms, and venues (depending on the city we were planning in). We also got to be creative and do social distancing flash mobs and musical performances where the musicians had on masks that spelled out “Will You Marry Me?”

So as you can see, Proposal Planning during the pandemic is very much still going on. And this is why I encourage you Wedding Planners, no…. I URGE you, to start offering Proposal Planning services. Not only will it help you get through this time period but when life goes back to normal, you will already have this service set up and working for you.

===>>>Not convinced yet, download my FREE Resource, “Top 3 Reasons You MUST Add Proposal Planning Services Now.”

If you are convinced and you are ready to get started, you have 2 options.

Option 1: You start setting up Proposal Planning services on your own

Download my FREE Resource, “4 Things You Can Start Doing TODAY TO Start Proposal Planning.”

Download my FREE Checklist For Your Proposal Planning Marketing Strategy and get started working on that marketing plan.

Option 2: You want a step-by-step implementation guide with proven results so that you launch quickly and do it right the first time

Introducing Proposal Planning Formula™.

In Proposal Planning Formula™, I’ve taken everything I have learned over the last decade about Proposal Planning and marketing marriage proposal services (over 4,000 proposals planned and $5M revenue earned), and channeled it into a comprehensive, step-by-step implementation plan teaching you not only how to effectively start offering Proposal Planning, but to actually EXECUTE a marketing strategy that provides results.

Proposal Planning Formula™ is the only course of its kind that teaches you how to launch quickly, provides you a complete marketing plan, and focuses on maintenance.  

To learn more, all you have to do is head to www.theheartbanditsacademy.com/proposalplanningformula

Whichever option you do, I fully support you and just know you will do great things.

5 Thoughts That Are Holding You Back

how to be a proposal planner
how to be a proposal planner

Have you ever wanted something really bad but you’ve talked yourself out of it with self-sabotaging thoughts? Well if you are human, my guess is that your answer is yes. We all do this, but the trick to fighting back the self-doubting thoughts, is to understand that it is just noise. The thoughts aren’t real, they are just worries manifested into negative thoughts in your mind.

If you have thought about offering Proposal Planning services to your existing Wedding Planning business, but still not taken action, I have an idea of what you might be thinking. As a Proposal Planning Coach, I encounter students with similar thoughts over and over. Do these thoughts sound familiar?

1. I Don’t Have Time

This is one of the most common reasons that I hear Wedding Planners say that they have not yet started offering Proposal Planning services. And I get it, believe me I do. I am a mother of a 5 year old daughter (currently screaming right now and trying her best to distract me) and a 22 month old son, a wife, and the owner of 4 companies. So I know a thing or two about being busy. But it isn’t time that I don’t have, it’s time to WASTE that I don’t have. And if you really think about it, isn’t that the truth for you too? If you knew you could offer Proposal Planning easily and start making money right away, would you find the time to start the process? I am betting that you would. But understandably, if you don’t know where to start and you don’t understand the benefits of offering it, the venture could certainly fall under the “I don’t have time” category.

2. People Will Think I Am A Jack Of All Trades

As a Wedding Planner, you have worked your butt off to establish yourself. You likely have your wedding business up and running and producing a steady clientele. The last thing you want to do is muck up your website and start offering a new service which distracts your brides from your brand. After all, what you are doing in your wedding business IS working. So if it’s not broke, don’t fix it, right? But I am here to tell you, it does not have to be that way. If you just throw up “proposal” words and proposal pictures on your website without a strategy and a very solid plan, I could see that this could be an actual fear. However, if you have a plan to add Proposal Planning in a thoughtful and intentional way, you can successfully speak to both the bride AND the proposer without confusing either of them.

3. I Won’t Get Clients

The fear of failure is in us all. But as an entrepreneur, we are hardwired to take risks. And the motto of any successful entrepreneur should be that, “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” – Robert F. Kennedy. So yes, I get it. You are scared that you will start offering Proposal Planning services and that no one will inquire. But if you never start trying, you will DEFINITELY not get any Proposal Planning clients. And besides, you are only fearing this possibility because you don’t know yet how to go about things. But if you knew the strategies to implement, or you had a solid game plan in how to get Proposal Planning clients, it wouldn’t seem so scary.

4. I Don’t Know How To Market To These Clients

This is a legitimate concern. But you wouldn’t have chosen to NOT start your wedding planning business simply because you didn’t know how to start a wedding planning business right? You only don’t know how to market to a Proposer, because you haven’t learned how yet. If you truly want to start offering Proposal Planning services, you can easily learn how to be a proposal planner by learning how to market to this client.

5. It Will Be A Waste Of Time

This is what I feel the number one fear of any entrepreneur, or maybe even any person is. Time is our most limited commodity. And we will give it to what we love and feel passionate about. But wasting time feels like a kick to the gut, so every decision we make in regards to where to invest our time, has to feel like it won’t be a WASTE of our time. But there is an easy solution to combat this negative thought – simply make sure you have a road map! When you start offering Proposal Planning, you aren’t just going to go into it blindly. You are going to have a plan and a roadmap that will make sure that you can do things easily and efficiently as possible.

Now that I have helped you combat your self-doubting thoughts about starting offering Proposal Planning services, here is what I want you to do! Download our Top 3 Reasons You Should Start Offering Proposal Planning NOW and 5 Reasons That Proposal Planning and Wedding Planning Is The “Perfect Marriage.”  This will help you understand exactly why you need to start offering Proposal Planning services to your wedding planning business. We will soon launch a webinar to help you learn how, so stay tuned for that as well. I can’t wait to see what you do with this information!!

5 Reasons To Take Advantage Of The Quarantine & Level Up Your Wedding Business

I hear it all the time, “I want to start offering Proposal Planning services, but I just don’t have the time.” And believe me, I get it. I too am a very busy entrepreneur and under normal circumstances, would have had a hard time even finding time to post on Instagram, let alone launching a new service. But you and I have been given a gift during this quarantine, the gift of time. And what better way to use this time than to level up our business and do something that could earn an additional stream of revenue that can last for the life of your business. Here are 4 reasons that you need to take advantage of this downtime and expand on your wedding services:

1. Now Is The Perfect Time To Get Focused

Before you start offering a new service, you really need to get focused and figure out the best approach to adding the service to your wedding business. If you were right in the middle of wedding season, when would you have time to do this? Chances are, you wouldn’t. It would get put on your endless “to-do list” that gets longer every day, and may never ever take off. Use this time to get laser focused on adding Proposal Planning services to your existing brand because you will never get this moment back and never have this type of an opportunity again.

2. Opportunity To Take A Course

When your business is in full swing, do you really have time to take courses to expand on your knowledge and grow your business? I know I never do. So now that you have more free time, you can enroll in courses which will help you add a new service to your wedding business. Whether you sign up for Proposal Planning training or just a course on how to grow your Instagram account, the investment you make into your business right now will pay off in the long run.

3. You Have More Time To Launch

Launching any new service can take some time. You have to come up with a strategy, add the new service to your website, update all of your social media and more. If you were trying to do this during Wedding Season, it would take a LOT longer than it would take if you were to get started now. Even though you still have work to do and you still have marketing to manage for your Wedding business, you do have more time than you would normally have. So use this time to move closer to your goals. If you are craving growth and you want to diversify your income, it is the perfect time to add another service to your Wedding Planning. And I believe that perfect service is Proposal Planning.

4. You Have Time To Create Content

Another potentially time consuming aspect of launching a new service is creating the content to promote it. But during this situation, don’t you find that you have a little more time than you typically do? If so, it is the perfect time to start creating content for the new service that you are launching. Take this time to create content in advance and get it all scheduled. That way, when the quarantine lifts and you get back to your normal busy self, the content will already be in place and can start working for you!

5. More People Are Online

The top reason that you should launch a new service during the quarantine is because right now, more people are online than they ever will be again. Millions of people are quarantined and spending way more time online as a result. Which makes this a very unique opportunity to promote your new service to your target audience. All eyes will be on you as you announce your new service and start to target your new audience. If you target some really great keywords and hashtags, your visibility could go through the roof due to how many people are online these days.

This also gives you an opportunity to network with other professionals that can help you grow your new service. For example, if you are going to launch Proposal Planning services, you can use this time to reach out to other companies that you want to build relationships with. Chances are, business is slow for them right now too and they will welcome the opportunity to network with a new vendor.

If adding Proposal Planning to your Wedding Planning business intrigues you, then I encourage you to head over to  www.theheartbanditsacademy.com and grab one of our FREE DOWNLOADS.  In them, we discusses the Top 3 Reasons You Should Start Offering Proposal Planning NOW and 5 Reasons That Proposal Planning and Wedding Planning Is The “Perfect Marriage.”  This will help you find out if adding Proposal Planning to your Wedding Planning business could be right for you.  I hope to see you there!