Through her two service-focused businesses, Alisha Pagan helps people navigate some of life’s most meaningful milestones—from notarizing important legal documents to officiating deeply personal wedding ceremonies. Serving clients across the Hudson Valley and beyond, she combines professionalism with a passion for creating memorable moments.
Inspired by ‘One Love’
Pagan originally planned to simply become a wedding officiant. Her first idea, “Alisha’s Weddings,” began as a small extension of her notary business. But after performing her first ceremony, she realized the work carried a unique emotional weight.
“It started because I wanted to be a wedding officiant—that was the original idea,” Pagan said. “When I did my first wedding, I felt that emotion and thought, ‘Okay, this needs to be its own entity.’”
The name One Love reflects both her heritage and the meaning behind marriage.
“My family is Jamaican, and there’s a song from Bob Marley called ‘One Love,’” she explained. “It’s about unity—a couple becoming one.”
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Today, One Love Ceremonies & Events offers personalized officiant services along with celebration experiences such as photo booths and audio guestbooks to help couples capture lasting memories.
A career built on service
Helping others has always been central to Pagan’s career.
“I’ve always been in the service industry,” she said. “Before this I was a real estate agent, and before that I was a police officer.”
Pagan served as a police officer in Miami for five years after moving there with her husband. Earlier in her career she also worked as an EMT.
“All my jobs were pretty much service-related—providing services to the public,” she said. “That’s what I’ve always gravitated to.”
Her journey into the notary profession began around the COVID-era housing market, when real estate agents faced intense competition.
“It was exhausting,” she recalled. “You could put in offer after offer and there might be twenty offers on one property.”
While exploring new opportunities, she discovered mobile notary work connected to real estate closings.
“I saw a video about loan signings and thought, ‘You can do that?’ I already knew the real estate industry, so I took training and started my business.”
Alisha Pagan notarizes the couple’s marriage documents following their wedding ceremony.
Bringing notary services to the community
Through Alisha’s Mobile Notary Service, Pagan travels across the Hudson Valley to meet clients where it is most convenient.
“I go to Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, Westchester, Dutchess and Putnam counties,” she said. “Some people can’t get to a bank or library for a notary—they work long hours or have kids at home. So I go to them.”
In addition to in-person appointments, she also offers remote online notarizations through secure video calls. Her services commonly include real estate closings, estate planning documents, powers of attorney, and apostille paperwork for international use.
Designing unique wedding ceremonies
While her notary work focuses on legal documentation, Pagan says weddings bring a very different experience.
“Notary and weddings are two completely different things,” she said. “You’re helping people with major life moments in both, but weddings are more emotional.”
Her goal is to ensure every ceremony reflects the couple’s story.
“Every couple deserves their own personalized ceremony,” she said. “Everyone gets something tailored to them.”
Before writing a ceremony, Pagan schedules a one-hour consultation with couples.
“We talk about everything—how long they’ve been together, what they love about each other, even what annoys them about each other,” she said. “You’d think they might feel uncomfortable, but they don’t. They start laughing and joking.”
Those conversations help her shape the tone of the ceremony—whether romantic, humorous, or spiritual.
Moments that stay forever
Among the many ceremonies she performs, Pagan says intimate elopements are often the most memorable.
“Elopements are awesome because you can do them anywhere,” she said. “I did one in front of a waterfall, and it was amazing.”
During that ceremony, a group of students on a school trip unexpectedly witnessed the moment.
“At the end we heard kids cheering,” she recalled. “They came over asking if they could hug the bride.”
Another ceremony left a deep impression. A couple contacted her just two weeks before their wedding because one of the brides was battling cancer.
The story resonated with Pagan, who had recently recovered from cancer herself.
“I just wanted to make it as special as possible for them,” she said.
