A match made in Sun Valley

There’s no better place to celebrate love than Sun Valley and we are lucky to offer everything you need for the wedding of your dreams.

Alexa Cook & Augie Sherman | Married August 4, 2018 | Trail Creek Pavilion, Sun Valley

By DANNI DEAN PHOTOS DEV KHALSA

Sun Valley has always held a special place in Alexa Cook’s heart. In addition to her countless memories of vacations and holidays spent at her grandparents’ Sun Valley home, her parents were married in Sun Valley in 1986. Given this family history, and long before she accepted a marriage proposal from Augie Sherman, Alexa was already certain she wanted to celebrate her own wedding in Sun Valley.

Alexa and Augie attended the same high school in Oklahoma City and were part of the same extended group of friends, but their relationship didn’t take off until after they graduated from college, when they were both living and pursuing careers in New York City. Augie reached out to Alexa during his first week in town and arranged a dinner date at Little Owl restaurant in Greenwich Village. “And the rest is history!” said Alexa.

The couple eventually landed in Dallas, where Augie pursued an MBA and Alexa opened up a satellite office for her company. On the final day of a ski trip to Telluride in December 2016—just before they were scheduled to drive to Idaho to meet up with Alexa’s family for the holidays—Augie proposed. As Alexa tells it, they spent much of the 10-hour car trip planning their wedding. By the time they arrived at Alexa’s grandparents’ house, they had decided that Sun Valley would be the place.

Another thing Alexa and Augie immediately agreed upon is that they wanted to be married outdoors, with the Idaho mountains as a backdrop. “The mountains are our church,” Alexa explained, and after exploring various wedding venue options, she and Augie knew that Trail Creek Pavilion would provide the magical setting they were looking for. “Trail Creek had the best views, and they gave us the freedom to create the celebration we really wanted,” said Alexa. “They made everything easy for us, and it couldn’t have been more perfect.”

Once the wedding venue was reserved, Alexa and Augie’s wedding planner put them in touch with local service providers who would make their wedding day extra special. The first person they contacted was Tara Matteson of Tara Bella Flowers. “Tara is so talented, and her work is incredible,” shared Alexa, “but what really sealed the deal for me was her warmth and her desire to learn more about us and our plans for the wedding.” The couple had a similar experience when it came to booking a photographer; it took just one phone call to know that Dev Khalsa was the right person to document their wedding weekend. “Dev wanted to know what was most important to us as a couple on our wedding day, and she was highly attentive to how we wanted the event to feel and flow,” said Alexa. “She was the rock star of our wedding—she made everything fun and actually surprised us by enhancing the wedding experience for us and our guests.”

To make the most of their time with out-of-town family members and friends who had traveled to Sun Valley for the big day, Alexa and Augie planned a number of special events around the wedding celebration. These included a welcome party catered by The Haven in her grandmother’s backyard and group hikes on Baldy and Proctor Mountain that were capped off with beers and burgers at Grumpy’s.

Looking back on their experience, Alexa and Augie have some advice for couples planning a Sun Valley wedding. “Don’t wait to tell your friends about your plans,” said Alexa. “Send out a ‘save the date’ card well in advance and give your guests as much information as possible so they can make a trip out of it.” The couple also suggests hiring local service providers whenever possible, since they’re the ones who can really make your wedding a success. “These people are the backbone of the community and a big part of what makes the Sun Valley area so special,” said Alexa. “And it’s an important part of keeping the local economy alive.”