78 Photo Essay: Aletha Wilson

With This Ring Wedding Planning & Consulting

Words by McKenzie Wade | Image by Blakeney Clouse 

In 1996, Aletha Wilson married the man of her dreams and had the wedding she’d always dreamt of—a wedding she’d been planning since she was three years old. More than 20 years later, Aletha now helps hundreds of brides plan their perfect day and make their dreams a reality. 

Aletha grew up in Prattville, Alabama. After graduating from Auburn University with a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education in 1977, she taught third grade at Prattville Elementary School for 18 years. It was a job she cherished. 

Soon after they were married, Aletha and her husband, Bob, moved to Jasper and she retired from teaching. In 1997, a young woman approached her about helping to plan her wedding. Aletha had helped with event planning some in the past, but admits she wasn’t an expert. “I said, ‘Well, I am not actually a wedding planner, I am a prior schoolteacher,’” Aletha laughs.

Although she was hesitant to commit, Aletha decided to give it a try. “I started reading every book, every magazine, going to wedding events—I just tried to learn as much as I could,” she says. 

Word of her wedding planner skills quickly spread and soon, Aletha had started a business in a career she never imagined. With This Ring Wedding Planning and Consulting offers packages varying in levels of involvement throughout the planning process, and recently has even added floral services. Aletha’s main goal is to help a bride any way she can. “I will do, and am happy to do, as much as a bride needs or as little as a bride needs,” she says. 

Whether she’s handling the catering, listening to a bride’s unique ideas, or helping a bride decide on a color of nail polish, Aletha enjoys every part of her job. For her, the most special part is the relationships she builds with her brides along the way. “She not only is my bride, but most of the time, she becomes a very close friend… I cherish that,” Aletha says.

 “The most rewarding thing for a bride to tell me is, ‘Mrs. Aletha, my wedding was perfect, thanks to you!’” she adds. “That just makes my heart so happy. It makes it all worthwhile.” 78