The Yes Girls Offer Planning Services for Beautiful Proposal Experiences

The Short Version: Many partners who want to plan a marriage proposal that is both memorable and unique to the relationship have no idea where to start. That’s why Heather Vaughn created The Yes Girls to guide couples through the process. The Yes Girls offer luxury planning services for marriage proposals, elopements, and romantic occasions. With their help, partners can plan a beautiful proposal with little stress along the way.

Heather Vaughn always knew that she wanted to work in the wedding industry. After college, she dreamed of opening her own wedding planning business. But during her first few jobs, Heather noticed a clear gap in the industry: proposal planning. While she had no trouble finding talented wedding planners, she had never even heard of someone working as a professional proposal planner.

And yet, she had heard plenty of stories of proposals that had gone wrong or had disappointed the prospective fiancée-to-be. 

She did some market research and confirmed what she knew anecdotally: Proposals were a shockingly underserved space. No proposal planning services existed on the market. And yet, she found that people conducted more than 100,000 searches for proposal ideas and advice every month. Heather realized that planning proposals would help her make the most significant impact in the wedding industry.

When Heather launched her wedding planning package in 2008, she created a proposal planning package. Since then, she has grown The Yes Girls with the help of her teammates, Nico and Abby. The company has zeroed in on proposal planning to create the best possible proposal experiences for couples.

Among the life events couples will recount for years to come is the story of their proposal. Both partners should be able to look back fondly at the moment they officially decided to get married. A wedding proposal should be a beautiful experience in which the proposal recipient feels incredibly special and immediately knows the answer is yes.

The Yes Girls do their best to ensure the proposal is a magical experience.

After 14 years in the proposal space, The Yes Girls have plenty of helpful insights into planning a successful proposal. As planners, they help clients at every step of the process, from choosing a location for the proposal to writing a speech. 

We asked Heather if she thinks the proposer should always have a speech written. “Overall, I would recommend they prepare and think about it ahead of time — even write it down to practice — because on that proposal day, most are so nervous that having some practice helps them not draw a complete blank at that moment. We even created a proposal speech template to help our clients and guide them through ideas and prompts so they can decide what they would like to say.” 

She also had some thoughts on proposal faux pas. One common mistake is using a bulky ring box, she said. “That is a dead giveaway,” Heather said. “We highly recommend Box Sock for that reason. It’s a cool pocket sock that hides a thin ring box.” That way, the proposal can genuinely be a surprise, right until the moment you propose.

Another issue that Heather frequently comes across is a lack of buffer time leading up to the actual proposal. Heather recommends allocating 30 minutes as a buffer to guarantee that the process runs smoothly, even if a few things happen differently than anticipated. “This ensures your timeline stays on track if your future fiancé is running a little late or any of the vendors,” Heather said.

But in Heather’s opinion, the most significant issues come up when people just wing it and assume that everything will work out. Winging it doesn’t just apply to giving an impromptu speech. It’s about not giving the necessary consideration to the location, venue, or timing. Heather suggests that clients “Get a permit for the set-up (for example, use a gazebo at the park or proposing at the beach). This is to ensure it won’t get shut down. If the client has the budget, we highly encourage renting a private space to avoid any potential headaches a free public space can cause.”

Making a proposal of marriage can be nerve-racking; you certainly don’t want to add dealing with law enforcement or the park service to the list of stressors for the day.

The Yes Girls have years of experience helping hundreds of clients through their proposals. The team has the knowledge to guide you through the questions you already have about proposing and to help plan for difficulties you may not have considered. The team’s help can make the weeks leading up to the proposal and the actual day more manageable, so you have the space to enjoy this special moment in your life.

Heather believes that an essential element of a successful and beautiful proposal is the personal touch. It should be unique to the couple’s relationship, particularly the wants and interests of the partner receiving the proposal. There are many ways to create a personalized proposal. 

“Whether that be through a stunning visual display, the selection of flowers to the music playing, when she walks into the space, it should be created just for her,” Heather said. “Another key factor to capturing that beautiful proposal moment is location  —  and being aware of what that location entails such as lighting, what the landscape will be, and if it is a private or public space.”

While you might have plenty of memories and ideas of things that could make a proposal unique to your partner, it can be hard to translate them into the event’s logistics. But that’s where The Yes Girls come in. The planners know precisely how to take the information you give them about your relationship and use it to create a proposal that your partner loves.

Akshay and Shipra successfully used The Yes Girls’ service for their eye-catching proposal experience. The couple’s proposal included a beautiful flower-covered trellis on a rooftop overlooking the New York City skyline and the participation of friends and family.

“The Yes Girls were the perfect planners for my proposal; I loved how they went over and beyond to get everything needed for my proposal down to the minute details,” Akshay said. “I loved the way I got two customized proposals which were very thoughtful based on Shipra’s taste.” 

The Yes Girls use a couple’s experiences and interests to personalize ideas and make each proposal a success.

The Yes Girls team members know how important it is for a small business to create an atmosphere of positivity. It takes teamwork to do the best work for clients. “We start each weekly team meeting with gratitude to ensure our focus always remains on the positive even when complications may arise,” Heather said. “We are honored to be a part of such a pivotal moment in couples’ lives.”

Since the company’s start, The Yes Girls business model as a proposal planning service was an innovative idea. Heather saw a gap in the wedding industry and built a thriving and valuable service to fill that space. But her work doesn’t stop there. The team plans to expand the boutique business in the coming year, hire more planners, and work with service providers to create luxury proposal packages. 

In the years to come, Heather said she hopes to branch into other elements of the wedding industry, including vow renewal, anniversary, and luxury date night packages. A line of engagement rings may even be in the company’s future. With a creative team like The Yes Girls, anything is possible.

Hiring The Yes Girls is a wise decision for anyone struggling with their proposal planning. The team can help guide prospective fiancés, make the proposal recipient feel incredibly special, and support the couple through a critical period in their relationship.

Working with the team is an enjoyable and supportive experience as an employee or a client. “We truly love what we do and even more so, love the team dynamic we’ve created,” Heather said. “Even though we work remotely, we make sure to have fun and enjoy working together. We are encouragers and want each of our team members to thrive.”