Today we’d like to introduce you to Alyson Desha
Hi Alyson, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always enjoyed organizing and coordinating events. This was true in high school when I was involved in student council and clubs, continued to be true when I became the women’s ministry coordinator at High Point Fellowship in Cedar Park (and was tasked with pulling off monthly women’s events and coordinating annual 2-night women’s retreats), and then was my claim to fame for 2.5 years when my husband was the interim youth minister at Grace Bible Church in Georgetown (and our events ranged from simple movie nights to dinner and entertainment fundraisers to two night high school retreats). In the spring of 2016, I had the opportunity to be paid for my expertise in an entirely new industry: weddings! I started out assisting a local wedding planner and quickly figured out that this was a place where I could shine. By the time winter rolled around, I was working as a lead coordinator and a year later it was time to branch out on my own. That is when Mockingbird Lane was born.
People tend to want to know about the wedding coordinator’s wedding, so I’m going to dive deep into the recesses of my brain to tell you a bit about it. Josh and I were married in 2001 at the Hankamer-Fleming Chapel on the campus of the Texas Baptist Children’s Home in Round Rock. A small cake and punch reception followed at The Rabb House just down the road (which used to be a 1980s-era split level home, not the current structure that was built to replace it after a flood took out the original). We planned and paid for our entire wedding from start to finish, and no, we didn’t have a wedding coordinator. (I wouldn’t have even known what that was if you had asked me!) What we had was a group of eager little church ladies who loved us very much and took care of everything (but didn’t get to enjoy our wedding because they were helping behind the scenes… which is exactly why you need a coordinator!). It ranks as one of the best days of my life because it began my marriage, but honestly if I had it to do over again, we would elope. Seriously.
In 2018, Mockingbird Lane’s first year of business, I personally coordinated nine weddings and five events. Moving into 2019, it was clear that Mockingbird Lane was in a position to have plenty of work and it was time to build my team so I set to work doing exactly that. We closed out 2019 completing 37 weddings and four events and started 2020 with 40 weddings already on the calendar and on track to complete 60 weddings that year. Even though 50% of our 2020 rescheduled or canceled entirely due to COVID, we still closed out 2020 with 40 weddings which I felt was remarkable given the challenges of that year. Since then, we have grown every year, having the opportunity to make wedding dreams come true for over 400 couples to date.
When I’m not coordinating a wedding or other event, I’m momming my four kids, homeschooling the two that haven’t reached adulthood yet, chauffeuring my non-drivers to a myriad of activities, homesteading, dating my husband, reading Harry Potter, or enjoying reruns of Dr. Who or Everybody Loves Raymond. Oh, or sleeping. I *really* like to sleep.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
See COVID. LOL.
Growth is hard. Training people to my exacting standards is hard. Maintaining work/life balance with a growing family is hard. But every step along the way for the past 8 years has been worth it.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
At Mockingbird Lane, we believe that every bride deserves the peace of mind gained by hiring a coordinator for their big day, so we are priced affordably and offer a menu of a la carte service options for brides who desire additional assistance during the planning process. We pride ourselves in providing thoughtful and meticulous wedding coordination services to bring our clients’ vision to life. A wedding coordinator is the “Girl Friday” of the wedding day, coming equipped with a customized timeline, an exhaustive checklist, layouts of where everything belongs and an Emergency Kit that would show up even the most well-prepared grandma. With our wedding management package, we can hold a client’s hand through the entire planning process, or just get them through the final push to bring their vision into reality. We start the process with an initial consultation to see if the ladies of the Lane are the right fit. From there, we dive into curated vendor recommendations, custom checklists, planning documents, and unlimited support, all packaged into a personalized client interface and portal. As the wedding gets closer, we work with our clients to create the detailed timeline, meet with them at the venue to finalize their timeline and layout, communicate final details with the entire vendor team, run their rehearsal and execute their wedding day.
We love what we do, and it shows. We treat every wedding as though it were our own, and no detail is too small to be attended to. We greet every wedding guest with a smile, and work tirelessly behind the scenes while everything wedding day seamlessly flows into awesome. Every member of our coordination team has been hand-picked by yours truly, and I like to think that I know a thing or two about a well-coordinated wedding. I have carefully trained every coordinator on the Mockingbird Lane team so our clients can rest assured that their wedding will be handled professionally and thoughtfully from initial consultation to post-wedding follow up no matter which team member they are working with.
What are your plans for the future?
Super happy with where we are! Only changes I see in our future are adding more adorable babies to our team and continuing to create opportunities for my amazing team to reach their goals.
Pricing:
- $2650 Wedding Management
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mockingbirdlaneevents.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mockingbirdlaneevents/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MockingbirdLaneWeddings
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/mockingbird-lane-weddings-and-events-georgetown-2
Image Credits
Kelley Laws Photography www.kelleylaws.com
@kelleylawsphoto
