MEET YOUR BRIDAL BESTIE

The Woman Behind Lawler Love Story

If you had told me a few years ago that I would be officiating weddings, coordinating wedding days, writing couples’ love stories, and building a business around all things love and marriage, I probably would have looked at you like you had the wrong Alisha.

Weddings were never on my bingo card.

Entrepreneurship, though? That part has been there for a long time.

BEFORE LAWLER LOVE STORY, THERE WAS SHAEVERYTHING

In 2018, I knew I wanted a business. What I didn’t know was exactly what kind of business I wanted, so naturally, I decided to do…everything.

And I mean everything.

My business was called ShaEverything, and the name was extremely accurate. At different points, I made custom shirts, sweatsuits and bathing suits. I created custom wine glasses, hats and party treats. I made body butters and scrubs, beard oils and men’s grooming products. I DIYed centerpieces and wicker chairs, created custom backdrops, rented a 360 photo booth, and even started reselling and shipping clothing from a website of my own.

My basement was FULL.

Looking back now, it’s actually hilarious how many different things I tried. But underneath all of it was something that is still very much a part of who I am today: I love creating, I love helping people, and I will absolutely figure something out if it needs to be done.

Eventually, I realized I didn’t necessarily want to do ShaEverything.

I wanted to do ShaEverything event-wise.

THE PARTY THAT CHANGED THE DIRECTION

In 2019, I threw my son J’aiden a Nerf-themed birthday party. It was our first big event in our home, and I wanted to go all out.

I made my first balloon garland and balloon columns.

At the time? I thought I did my BIG ONE.

Today? Baby, those things were horrible. 😂

But I was proud of them. Everyone loved the party, and more importantly, I loved creating it. From there, I started doing parties for family and friends, eventually began promoting my work, and little by little, events became my lane.

Weddings still weren’t part of the plan.

Until someone else saw something in me that I hadn’t quite seen in myself yet.

WAIT…ME? AN OFFICIANT?

A friend once told me that I should become a wedding officiant because I was good with words and storytelling. I’ve always enjoyed writing—even if I currently have books that have been waiting approximately one million years for me to finish them.

But becoming an officiant?

That scared me.

I’m hard of hearing, and for a long time I lacked confidence in my pronunciation of certain words. Standing in front of a room full of people, with everyone listening to me, wasn’t exactly something I was rushing to sign up for.

After receiving my cochlear implant in 2023, I started gaining more confidence in myself.

At the same time, my husband and I were supposed to be planning our own big wedding. I was planning it myself, but grief had taken a lot out of me, and eventually we decided that the big wedding wasn’t what we needed anymore. Instead, we chose to elope on our anniversary.

About a month before we tied the knot, I found Jaclyn, also known as The Officiant Jawn, to officiate our ceremony.

While working with her, I started asking questions. The more I learned about officiating, the more I started thinking about what my friend had told me years before.

Maybe this actually is something I could do.

I became ordained on October 6, 2023, before my own elopement. From there, I started researching everything I could—ceremony structure, marriage-license procedures, legal responsibilities, ceremony flow and all the pieces that go into creating and performing a meaningful ceremony. Jaclyn became my mentor as I started finding my footing in this completely unexpected new chapter.

I knew I wanted to try officiating.

I just didn’t expect people to start hiring me almost immediately.

FROM ONE WEDDING TO THE NEXT

My first wedding was November 21, 2023, with around 50 guests.

I was terrified.

My mouth was dry. My hands were shaking so badly that I was convinced everyone could see the papers in my hands doing earthquake-level movements.

And somewhere in the middle of all that fear, I had another realization: I hadn’t done many things completely on my own.

Now I was standing in a room full of people I didn’t know—and everyone was looking at me.

I remember thinking, What in the world were you thinking?

But I did it.

And apparently, I hid the terror pretty well.

Someone attending that first ceremony later hired me for her daughter’s wedding. Before that referred wedding even arrived, I had already officiated several more ceremonies. By New Year’s Eve, just a few months after becoming ordained, I had gone from wondering whether I could actually do this to finishing my first little wedding season.

I was finding my place—and fast.

BECOMING THE BRIDAL BESTIE

Somewhere along the way, Bridal Bestie became the perfect name for how I naturally showed up for my couples.

The funny thing is, I don’t think I ever actually became the Bridal Bestie.

I was already her.

Even at my earliest weddings, I wasn’t interested in simply arriving, reading a script, signing a marriage license and going home. I brought a tripod. I recorded ceremonies. I took pictures. I stayed for moments I technically didn’t have to stay for.

Today, you might find me fixing a dress before a picture, running in to straighten somebody’s hair, cracking a joke during an awkward pause, keeping guests entertained while we wait, or standing somewhere in the background smiling so hard that eventually my cheeks literally hurt.

I remember little things, too.

That’s especially important when I’m officiating because I’m not just learning facts for a ceremony script. I’m getting to know the people whose story I’ve been trusted to tell.

Before the wedding day, couples share pieces of themselves with me—their memories, personalities, inside jokes, favorite moments and the little things that make their relationship theirs. I take all of that and turn it into a ceremony, but the connection doesn’t stop once the script is written.

By the time I’m standing beside them on their wedding day, I’ve learned enough about them that sometimes the words naturally change in the moment. I may add a little comment, pause for the laughter I know is coming, or say something that wasn’t originally written because it simply fits them.

That’s one of my favorite parts of what I do.

I get to witness the love story I had the opportunity to write.

I WANT YOUR WEDDING TO FEEL LIKE YOU

I don’t just want someone to tell me their ceremony was beautiful.

I want them to hear it and recognize themselves in it.

I want their family and friends to laugh at the parts that are so them, feel the meaningful moments, and walk away knowing that ceremony couldn’t have belonged to anybody else.

I especially love working with couples who aren’t afraid to make their wedding their own. Give me the personality. Give me the inside jokes. Give me the unexpected traditions and funny memories. Give me something I can really work with.

Traditional weddings can be beautiful, too. What matters to me is that the choices feel intentional and true to the people actually getting married.

When I’m coordinating, my dream couple looks a little different. I love working with people who know what they want and are organized, but who can also trust the professionals they hired. If I make a suggestion, it’s because I’m thinking about the experience you’re trying to create and how we can make your day work as smoothly as possible.

BEING YOUR BESTIE ALSO MEANS HAVING YOUR BACK

The sweet moments are easy.

Wedding days aren’t always easy.

I’ve learned that I am naturally a worrier, so there’s a good chance I am internally shaking in my boots when something goes wrong.

You just probably won’t know it.

My philosophy is simple: if I can solve a problem without bringing unnecessary stress to my couple, that’s exactly what I’m going to try to do.

I’ll work with vendors. I’ll find a trusted family member. I’ll grab somebody from the wedding party. I’ll troubleshoot. If I genuinely need the couple to make a decision, I’ll bring it to them—but they don’t need a play-by-play of every fire happening behind the scenes while they’re supposed to be enjoying one of the biggest days of their lives.

And sometimes having someone’s back means speaking up.

Weddings come with a lot of opinions—from family, friends, wedding parties, traditions and even the idea of what a wedding is “supposed” to look like. Part of my job is remembering whose wedding we’re actually celebrating.

If I notice that a couple’s wishes are getting lost in everybody else’s opinions, I’m going to bring the conversation back to them:

What do YOU want?

Not what somebody else thinks you should do. Not what you’ve seen on television. Not what tradition says has to happen.

It’s your wedding.

My job isn’t to make your day look like everybody else’s. It’s to help you have the day that feels right for you.

Whether I’m officiating, coordinating or supporting a couple in another way, I ultimately want them to leave feeling one thing:

Alisha had our back.

Bridal Bestie did her bestie duties.

AND WHEN I’M NOT THE BRIDAL BESTIE…

I’m probably being something else.

Always.

I don’t have a chill. I’m not even sure I would recognize “chill” if it slapped me in the face.

I’m a wife, mom, godmom, healthcare worker, advocate, student, writer, planner, home chef, 5K runner and professional keeper-together of approximately everybody’s life.

At the center of all those things, I’m naturally a helper. I’ve had to learn, though, that helping people well also requires boundaries. I can love on people, show up for them and still recognize where my responsibilities end.

I’m pursuing my education because I want to keep building the knowledge and skills that allow me to help people in different ways. I joke that I’m trying to stack degrees like Legos.

When I’m not working or studying, I love spending time with my husband and family, cooking, watching horror movies and shows, trying new restaurants and discovering new foods. I’m a writer when I actually sit down long enough to write, and I fully intend for the books I’ve been working on forever to become bestsellers one day.

And because apparently this is important information about the woman you’re trusting with your wedding:

I am obsessed with purple. 💜

SO, WHAT’S NEXT FOR LAWLER LOVE STORY?

When people ask what I do, my answer is usually simple:

All things wedding.

I want Lawler Love Story to continue becoming the place couples can come when they need support throughout their love story—not just one service on one day.

That can mean officiating. Coordination. Couples coaching. Décor. Timeline assistance. Relationship resources and workbooks. One day, it could mean bridal fashion, venues, luxury décor and services I haven’t even dreamed up yet.

It doesn’t mean every possible service will magically be included in one package. It means I want couples to know that when they come to Lawler Love Story with a need, my response will always begin with:

Let’s see how we can make it happen.

I want couples to enjoy their love without feeling like they have to go broke just to celebrate it. As my experience grows and Lawler Love Story grows, the services will evolve with it—but that part of my philosophy isn’t going anywhere.

People sometimes ask why I don’t make body scrubs anymore, or clothes, or all the other things I used to create through ShaEverything.

I think I finally know the answer.

I never stopped being the woman behind ShaEverything.

I just figured out what I wanted my “everything” to be.

The name Lawler Love Story has a story of its own.

It originally came from the wedding hashtag my husband and I created for the big wedding we ultimately never had. It was supposed to represent our love story.

When it was time to name this business, I didn’t have to think very hard. Lawler Love Story already meant something to me. It started with our story, and now every couple I work with adds another story to the book we’re building.

First, it became events.

Then, it became weddings.

And now, with every couple who trusts me with another chapter, Lawler Love Story keeps becoming exactly what its name promised from the beginning: a place where one love story makes room for another.