Molly Walsh & Isaac Keppler
October 10, 2015
The Valley Club
The Valley Club
October is one of the most beautiful months of the year in Sun Valley–a secret known only to locals and long-time visitors like Molly Walsh and Isaac Keppler. The traffic dies down, the leaves flush gold and red, and while the sky remains warm, a crisp breeze whispers of winter brewing on the mountaintops.
For Molly and Isaac, they chose to celebrate their autumn wedding at The Valley Club golf course with peach, teal and red natural accents. They kept it small and intimate, encouraging their Idaho and Kansas guests to enjoy what a Sun Valley fall has to offer, including the historic Trailing of the Sheep Festival.
Read Sun Valley Magazine’s interview with the bride and groom below, along with tips for planning your own Sun Valley wedding and a local vendor list at the bottom of the article.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE SUN VALLEY?
Have you seen this place?! It is a stunning location for a wedding any time of year, but especially in the fall. Sun Valley is also very close to our hearts. I (Molly) and my family have vacationed in Sun Valley nearly every summer since 1982 (with Isaac joining for the last five summers), and it has become like a second home for my family. Isaac grew up just a couple hours from Sun Valley in Grand View, Idaho, and he loves the mountains and high desert. So, Sun Valley was the perfect choice for both of us. And because Isaac moved to Kansas City so we could be together, it was very important to me that we get married in his home state.
WHERE ARE YOU FROM?
Molly is from in Onaga, Kansas, and Isaac grew up in Grand View, Idaho. We currently live in Leawood, Kansas, which is a suburb of Kansas City.
OCCUPATIONS?
Both of us are employment attorneys.
HOW DID YOU MEET?
We met online in October 2010. At the time, Isaac was living in Idaho, and Molly in Kansas at the time. After talking almost daily for several months, Isaac flew out to Kansas for a weekend visit in March 2011. Other than a few awkward first moments, our connection was pretty much instantaneous. I (Molly) was completely smitten after that first visit, and I’ll never forget Isaac telling me I “had his full attention.” From then on, we dated long distance, seeing each other every 4 to 6 weeks, until November 2012 when Isaac moved to Kansas City.
HOW DID YOU GET ENGAGED?
Isaac planned a romantic get-away to Sausalito, California. We had an early morning flight, and as we were getting ready to leave our house for the airport at about 4:30 in the morning, Isaac got down on one knee.
Molly: “I don’t know whether he was nervous about proposing or maybe losing the ring while traveling, but he proposed right then and there in our kitchen before we left the house. To me, getting engaged in the house that we bought and lived in together was perfect. Then it was off to California where we had one of the most relaxing, enjoyable, and romantic weekends of my life.”
Isaac: “I was nervous about both, but it really was a wonderful and exciting weekend.”
NUMBER OF GUESTS?
Approximately 85
WHAT WAS YOUR WEDDING THEME?
We wanted the atmosphere, décor and food to really embrace the beautiful mountain location and the fall season.
ANY SPECIAL TRADITIONS?
I don’t know if this really qualifies as a “tradition,” but I wore my mom’s pearl necklace at the wedding, which both of my sisters-in-law also wore when they married my brothers. It’s special to me that we all shared the same “something borrowed” for our weddings.
SONG THAT YOU WALKED DOWN THE AISLE TO?
Bride: Pachabel’s “Canon in D”
Groom: an acoustic version of Hozier’s “Like Real People Do”
SONG FOR YOUR FIRST DANCE?
“Just Let Go” by Sturgill Simpson
HOW DID THE NIGHT END?
Our night ended with a sweet, slow dance, and a bus ride to the Knob Hill Inn, where we stayed a couple days for a “mini-moon” until we take our real honeymoon.
WHERE WAS YOUR HONEYMOON?
We are going to New Zealand in February 2016.
WHAT MADE YOUR WEDDING SO SPECIAL?
The entire wedding weekend was special from start to finish. The people we worked with for the wedding were all amazing and couldn’t have been nicer or more helpful. And so many of them really went above and beyond to make our wedding perfect.
Our families really like each other, but don’t get together often, so it was fun to see them enjoy their time together. The food was outstanding! From the rehearsal dinner to the wedding dinner to the dessert – it was all top notch! The weather was perfect. It really could not have been better.
For Molly, one thing that made it extra special was having all the people who she loves most in this world in Sun Valley. I’ve told people about how special this place is for so long, and I loved finally getting to share it with all my loved ones. I also loved that our wedding party was relatively small, so we could spend quality time with everyone who came.
WHAT WAS THE BRIDE’S FAVORITE MOMENT?
There are so many wonderful moments from that day, but my absolute favorite was exchanging vows with Isaac in front of all our friends and family. I loved declaring our love and commitment to each other aloud in front of the most important people in our lives.
THE GROOM’S?
I can’t pick just one, but here are my top three:
1. Watching Molly walk down the aisle with her dad, Tom, was really special. I thought about the kind of husband and father that Tom is and was humbled to have his and Marcia’s (Molly’s Mom’s) blessing.
2. Saying my vows to Molly was one of the most impactful moments of my life, as I thought about the promises we were making, and our future together.
3. Finally, our first dance wasn’t pretty, but I loved every second of it.
And a bonus moment: seeing the entire Keppler family on the dance floor! That is more infrequent than a Hailey’s Comet sighting.
TIPS FOR SOMEONE PLANNING A SUN VALLEY WEDDING?
Take advantage of the location and encourage your guests to do the same! There are so many great things to do in Sun Valley, so don’t get mired down in the less-important wedding details. Hire a local wedding planner. Taylor Rossi of Taylor’d Events made our lives very easy and our wedding turned out better than we imagined. It was very important to us that our guests not only enjoyed the wedding, but also Sun Valley, and that we got to spend quality time with everyone. Having Taylor take care of the planning meant that we got to do exactly that! We also planned our wedding for the weekend of the Trailing of the Sheep Festival, so our guests got to enjoy that fun Idaho tradition!
VENDOR LIST
WEDDING PLANNER: Taylor’d Events
FLOWERS: Taylor’d Events
HAIR / MAKEUP: Ali Ingram at Feathered Flip / Britt Davis
LINENS: Barbara’s Party Rentals
DRESS / SHOES: Augusta Jones from Altar Bridal (in Kansas City) / Adrianna Pappell
GROOM’S ATTIRE: Bar III / Cole Haan / Ralph Lauren
BRIDESMAIDS / GROOMSMEN ATTIRE: Alfred Sung from Bella Bridesmaids / Bar III Suits
MUSIC: Nathan Hudson Entertainment
FOOD: The Valley Club
DESSERT: Short & Sweet Confections
INVITES: Designed by the bride and printed by Statements (in Kansas City)
PHOTOGRAPHER: Christine Marie Studios
VIDEOGRAPHER: Jordan Baker
OFFICIANT: Father Arul Carasala
