Ballpark estimate: $50 to $200/hour (with most proposal plans starting at two to three hours and going up to 20 hours or more)
If you’re planning to ask your loved one to marry you, your marriage proposal can be the bridge to the beautiful new life you’ll be building together. Therefore, you’ll want to create a special occasion that your intended will never forget. For many people, this means getting ultra creative with how they propose and where. But if you’re short on time or creativity, or both, or just need some extra help making your proposal truly stand out, that’s where a marriage proposal consultant can help!
The Allure of a Marriage Proposal Consultant
The words, “Will you marry me?” have withstood the test of time, but when it comes to the array of details that can accompany this question, the sky is the limit in today’s modern world.
Perhaps you want to propose in Central Park in a horse-drawn carriage, or maybe you want to fly your intended to Venice and propose in a gondola accompanied by musicians serenading you. Or maybe you want to propose during a helicopter ride.
With so many options to draw from, you may feel overwhelmed and not be sure where to start. Further, getting up your nerve to ask someone to marry you can be stressful enough, but add in planning all of the details for an over-the-top proposal event may be more than many men (or women) can handle. That’s where proposal consultants come in. A marriage proposal consultant is a professional who can help you to design, plan, and carry out your proposal, from the simplest, private moment to an extravagant affair in a very public venue. Whatever your vision is, a consultant can help you to achieve it.
Why the Stakes Are Ever Higher
With the rising popularity of social media, people today document all aspects of their lives online to share with their family, friends, and colleagues. For many men (or women), this translates into increased pressure to get the proposal right, since ultimately it is likely to be widely shared. Further, for some young people today, the quality and magnitude of the proposal they receive dictates whether they will accept, which puts even more pressure on their mate and also makes the idea of hiring a proposal consultant even more important. While it used to be that some women focused on the size of the engagement ring to measure the quality of their proposal, now the details surrounding the giving of the ring need to be just as big.
If you’re sweating just thinking about how much your proposal could cost, some proposal consultants remind their clients that the “perfect” proposal does not have to break the bank. The most important thing is that it expresses your feelings and is designed to appeal to the intended, not to impress their family and friends. This can be an important reality check.
The Growth of the Field
If you’re not familiar with the concept of a marriage proposal consultant, you are certainly not alone. This is a relatively new field that has come about in the past decade. Just as you could rely on the services offered by a travel agent to navigate an unfamiliar destination, and event planners can handle the details of the perfect wedding, you can count on a marriage proposal consultant to serve a similar role in planning the proposal—from nuts to bolts if needed. Just keep in mind that the level of assistance you get can be a very personal thing. Some men want the consultant to help them craft the idea and then manage all of the details so all he needs to do is show up and he can be confident that everything will run like clockwork. Especially if you’re trying to create a unique experience that has not been done before, this can take some real expertise to design something fresh and exciting. On the other hand, you might have a strong vision of what you want the proposal to be like and where you want it to take place, and you just need some assistance in coordinating the logistics to play out their dream. In addition, if you need some extra coaching on how to propose calmly and retain your cool, a consultant can also help you practice and can give you some helpful tips to retain your composure.
Regardless of where you fall on the spectrum, a marriage proposal consultant can help. Just keep in mind that the more that the consultant does for you, the higher the cost will be.
Hiring a Marriage Proposal Consultant
Before you can hire someone to help you design the perfect marriage proposal, you need to make sure that they understand your vision and are a good match for your style. Therefore, it’s important to shop around to find someone whom you trust and feel comfortable working with. A good place to start is by talking with married friends and getting their recommendations. If there is a well-respected wedding planning company in your area, you might also ask them for suggestions of proposal consultants they know. Further, if you plan to propose in a specific venue, you could find out if the place offers help with event planning or has proposal consultants who are familiar with the logistics of the location and will be able to help you coordinate all of the details. Or, you can do a search online and explore the many options that come up. When weeding through your choices, be sure to ask for recommendations from former clients and to do a search for complaints against the vendor before any money passes hands.
What to Expect
When hiring a marriage proposal consultant, you can expect the price to depend on what exactly you will get. Some of the types of services you can request include developing the proposal scenario, determining and arranging the locating, selecting the ring, writing your proposal speech, providing food, music, flowers, and photography and/or video services, and much, much more.
When determining if you’re willing to spring for a marriage proposal, you’ll need to start by considering what type of proposal you have in mind. Is it local? Does it involve travel? How about renting out a venue? Will you need an array of vendors? The more extravagant the proposal will be, the more work involved for the consultant so the more you can expect him or her to charge.
Most consultants charge by the hour. If you are on a limited budget, be sure to tell the consultant if you need to keep the hours to a certain limit. The number of hours involved
will span a wide range, depending on the extent of the planning needed. Some consultants may also be willing to work for a flat rate fee. In that case, it can help to have an idea of what you can afford to spend and see if the consultant can design something within your price range.
Cost for a Marriage Proposal Consultant
If you pay for the amount of time used, you can expect rates for a marriage proposal consultant to range from $50/hour to $200/hour or more.
To give you a very general idea of what to expect, some experts suggest that crafting a proposal starts at two to three hours. This means that at $50 an hour, you could spend $100 to $150, while at $200 an hour you might spend $400 to $600.
If you want the consultant to handle the details, this can be very time intensive. You can expect it to be about 10+ to arrange a straight forward event (or $500 to $2,000+), while something more complicated can take 20 hours or even more (or $1,000 to $4,000+). But the rates can go on up for more extravagant plans. For instance, one marriage proposal consultant’s website quotes rates as high as $6,000 for a full-blown proposal plan, while another says it can go up as high as $12,000 to plan a full proposal event from start to finish when there are lots of details to coordinate.
Other Expenses
Just keep in mind that in addition to the consultant’s fee, you also need to plan for the plan logistics (such as hotel, food, champagne, photos) and the ring as well, so if you want your proposal to be extravagant, you’ll need to have a generous budget to pay for it all.
