Mary & Steven // Winter Wedding at The Venue at Oak Place

Crimson and Navy Winter Wedding at The Venue at Oak Place and Huntsville First United Methodist Church // Wedding Photographers in Huntsville, Alabama

Writing the blog post for the first wedding of a new season is exciting!! It’s usually a winter wedding, cozy and thoughtful, and the promise of all the hot Alabama weddings is zooming toward us. Starting our year with Mary and Steven’s wedding at The Venue at Oak Place was just what our 2025 season wished for!

Although I’ve been to some vendor events hosted at The Venue at Oak Place, it was our first time photographing a wedding there. It’s been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1974, having been the private residence of architect George Steele, occupied by Union troops during the Civil War, and then renovated by a local Baptist church. With Mary being a history teacher, incorporating this aspect into their wedding day brought an extra meaningful element!

Mary and Steven used all the individual spaces in the historic house to create comfortable nooks for guests to relax on soft seating and taste-test the delicious food stations spread throughout the house. After dinner and mingling, everyone moved over to the east wing former church building for cake and dancing!

These two are just so fun. You can feel the love from everyone who surrounds them! Mary brings sunshine, enthusiasm, and joy to every room. I couldn’t pick out someone more perfect for her than Steven. He balances her energetic joy with calm kindness and thoughtful assessment of the situation. Watching them together is really sweet.

A Few of My Favorite Wedding Details

If people can be details, it would be them! This was one of the weddings when our wedding circles collided and we saw so many guests from our past weddings. That’s one of my favorite things! We even had a J&A Couple there, a multiple-time J&A bridesmaid, and a few sets of parents. Love, love love!!

Mary incorporated family heirlooms into her day. Her grandmother’s cross necklace and gold earrings, another grandmother’s fur wrap (which came in handy in January!), her mom’s veil, and a meaningful antique car. I also love exchanging private vows after the First Look, which Mary and Steven did. It only takes an extra few minutes, and it’s so meaningful.

Place soft seating throughout the venue space makes such a difference. It’s cozy and gives guests a comfortable place to sit and rest. The food stations spread throughout the different rooms were also stunning. A delicious form of art! And who doesn’t love a guest album filled with pictures from the engagement session?

There’s a lot to love.

Here’s a little peek into Mary and Steven’s wedding day at The Venue at Oak Place and Huntsville First United Methodist Church!

Mary & Steven – thank you so much for choosing us and giving us the gift of going on this journey with you! Your joy and enthusiasm is contagious. I’m going to miss all the email conversations! We wish you both the very best in this new adventure as husband and wife!

A shout out to these vendors!

Venue: The Venue at Oak Place
Wedding Coordinator: Courtney Burton Events
Photography: Joel & Amber Photography
Hair Stylist: Bridal Hair Huntsville
Makeup Artist: Olivia Sparks
Bride’s Dress: Something Blue Shoppe
Florals: BouqYard
Stationery: Ledgewood Fine Stationery
Ceremony Venue: Huntsville First United Methodist Church
Officiant: Rev. Dr. T. Wade Langer, Jr
Ceremony Musician: Harrell Phillips
Catering: Events by J. Raphael
Cake Artist: Batter Up Cakes
DJ: Metropolitan DJ
Rentals: Be Gathered Rentals, AllNeedz, BBJ La Tavola

Looking for more winter wedding inspiration?
Don’t miss Morgan & Ethan’s White Floral Winter Wedding at Burritt on the Mountain!