Meet Michele Velazquez of The Heart Bandits in Torrance

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michele Velazquez.

Michele, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
In 2010, co-founder Marvin Velazquez proposed to me. I did not feel that the proposal was very “me” and asked him why he chose to propose to me the way he did. He mentioned that there were not any resources out there for men to help them propose so we decided then and there to make one. We got our first client within one week and we knew it was a hit. We had 100% growth every year and to date we have planned over 2,000 proposals all across the world and we both work full time for The Heart Bandits. We have helped NFL Athletes, busy executives and college students alike plan their personalized marriage proposals. The Heart Bandits gave us the idea to invent a thin engagement ring box called Ring Stash which our clients also utilize to help them plan the perfect surprise proposal.

Has it been a smooth road?
I actually would say the road was smooth but we put in a lot of hard work to get our business where it is today. When we started the business we both had great positions in our corporate jobs so we would work 8-9 hours a day there and then come home and work all night on The Heart Bandits. While our friends were going out and having fun, we would be at home building packages or working on our website.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with The Heart Bandits – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We are Marriage Proposal Planners and we help client’s all over the world propose to their significant others. We are known for our attention to detail and our ability to take someone’s personal love story and turn it into a proposal concept. There are many things that set us apart from others. One, we have a female AND male on our team which we feel helps keep the proposals more balanced. I normally come up with really romantic and beautiful design concepts and my business partner tends to bring in more fun and exciting elements that I would not have thought of. We have found that our client’s greatly appreciate that diversity and they cannot get it anywhere else. We have also been in business for 7 years and I have personally been event planning for about 15 years so I believe we are the most experienced when it comes to marriage proposals.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
I LOVE Los Angeles! My favorite thing about LA is the weather and I also love how diverse it is here. I love that I can go eat the finest steak in Beverly Hills, get a bacon-wrapped hot dog from a food cart, or eat the best Mexican food from a hole in the wall, all on the same day! I love the beaches too. The only thing I don’t like about LA is the traffic. Oh, and the crazy housing prices, but I take the good with the bad.

Contact Info:

• Address: The Heart Bandits
• Website: http://www.theheartbandits.com
• Phone: 800-520-5972
• Email: [email protected]

Image Credit:
Petronella Photography, Rebecca Yale Photography, Joanne Leung Photography