The Velvet & Oak: The Intimate Snohomish Event Venue Your Celebration Has Been Waiting For

I've lived ten minutes from downtown Snohomish for over a decade. I've photographed weddings at its barns, walked its antique shops, and watched First Street do what it does best — hold onto its beauty while the rest of the world gets noisier. So when I say that something new and genuinely special just opened on that street, I mean it.

The Velvet & Oak at 908 First Street is the intimate event space Snohomish has been quietly missing. Built in 1901 and painstakingly restored by Chelsea Surdi, this historic two-story building is now home to a European-inspired event space downstairs and six luxury Airbnb suites — called 908 — upstairs. Together, they offer something I haven't seen anywhere else in Snohomish County: the ability to host an entire celebration weekend under one beautifully designed roof.

I had the privilege of photographing The Velvet & Oak during their debut styled shoot, and I left with a full card and a whole lot of feelings. This space photographs beautifully — the natural light, the European chandeliers, the historic brick, the restored wooden doors and brass hardware — it all adds up to a venue that makes every event feel considered and elevated.

Whether you're planning a rehearsal dinner, bridal shower, baby shower, milestone birthday, Mitzvah, or post-wedding brunch, The Velvet & Oak is the kind of intimate venue Snohomish County has needed for a long time. Here's a closer look at how each celebration shines here.

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Rehearsal Dinner Venue in Snohomish, WA — Finally, One Worth Getting Dressed Up For

If you're getting married in Snohomish or anywhere in Snohomish County, you already know that finding a rehearsal dinner venue that feels as special as your wedding is no small feat. Most couples end up at a restaurant back room or a space that doesn't quite match the energy of the weekend they've been planning for months.

The Velvet & Oak changes that entirely.

The event space seats up to 49 guests — intimate by design, which is exactly the point. A rehearsal dinner should feel like gathering your closest people, not managing a crowd. The restored original brick walls, European chandeliers shipped in from overseas, and in-house wrought iron tables create an atmosphere that is romantic, moody, and deeply atmospheric without requiring a single additional decoration.

During our styled shoot in early April, event planner BreeAnn Gale of Pink Blossom Events set the second look as a classic rehearsal dinner scene — jewel-toned spring florals, a charcuterie spread, warm chandelier light washing over dark blooms and polished glassware. The place settings and rentals from CORT Party Rental added the kind of elevated tablescape detail that makes a rehearsal dinner feel like its own event worth dressing up for. It was the kind of table that makes guests put their phones away just to be present.

And if your wedding party is staying in the six luxury suites upstairs? They wake up the morning of your wedding steps from where they toasted you the night before. That continuity — that sense of a weekend that belongs entirely to your people — is what makes The Velvet & Oak unlike anything else in the area.

Want your rehearsal dinner photographed? A room this beautiful deserves to be documented. Here's what to know:

•  Coverage: $750/hr · 2.5 hour minimum (most dinners run 2–3 hrs)

• Starting investment: $1,875

• Turnaround: Hand-edited images back within 30 days

• Gallery: Online with unlimited downloads + print rights

• Everything custom built around your event

Check My Availability

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Bridal Shower Venue in Snohomish — Light, Airy, and Made for This Moment

Bridal showers deserve a space that feels as celebratory as the occasion. Not a restaurant back room. Not a clubhouse. A real space with real design bones that makes the bride feel like the day was planned with intention.

The Velvet & Oak's spring brunch setup — the first of our two styled looks — showed exactly what this space can do for a bridal shower. Pastel pinks, yellows, greens, and whites set along a beautifully styled long table. A brunch charcuterie spread of mini pancakes, baby cinnamon rolls, every kind of fruit, crispy bacon, and yogurt parfaits. Light pouring through the restored windows, catching the glassware in that particular way that only rooms with real architectural bones can manage.

It was soft and joyful and exactly the kind of atmosphere that makes a bridal shower feel like a true celebration rather than an obligation.

The event space coordinator at The Velvet & Oak works with preferred vendors — including Herb & Grain for grazing tables, Goldenrod Floral for arrangements, and Magnolia Marks Studio for stationery — so putting together a cohesive, elevated shower is genuinely seamless here.

Bridal shower photography is one of my favorite things to capture. The toasts, the tears, the ridiculous ribbon bouquet — all of it.

Here's how it works:

• Coverage: $750/hr · 2.5 hour minimum (most showers run 2–3 hrs)

• Turnaround: Hand-edited images within 30 days

• Gallery: Online with free downloads for all guests (yes, really)

• Print rights included — do whatever you want with them

• Fully custom to your event

Let's chat about your date

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Baby Shower Venue in Snohomish — Elevated, Intimate, and Actually Enjoyable to Plan

Here's the thing about baby showers: they deserve the same care and attention as any other celebration, and yet so often the venue is an afterthought. The Velvet & Oak makes it easy to host a baby shower that feels genuinely special without the stress of trying to transform a space into something it isn't.

The soft, light-filled event space is naturally suited to a shower aesthetic. The building's European historic character adds warmth and elegance, and the team of preferred vendors means florals, grazing tables, and stationery are all a single conversation away. With seating for up to 49 guests, it's perfectly sized for a meaningful celebration — large enough to include everyone who matters, intimate enough that it doesn't feel like an event to manage.

The spring brunch setup from our styled shoot translates almost directly to a baby shower vision — and the personal brunch tray we photographed in one of the upstairs suites? That image gave me every feeling about what it would mean to have your closest people staying right there in the building, waking up the morning of your shower with nowhere to rush off to.

Welcoming a new baby is worth documenting beautifully. 2.5 hours covers more than you'd think — the arrival, the games, the gift opening, the happy tears, the bump photos you'll actually love. Here's the breakdown:

• Coverage: $750/hr · 2.5 hour minimum

• Turnaround: Hand-edited images within 30 days

• Gallery: Online with unlimited downloads + print rights

• Fully custom to your event

Get Your Date On My Calendar

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Milestone Birthday Party Venue in Snohomish — Because Some Birthdays Deserve More Than a Restaurant

A 40th. A 50th. A 60th. The birthdays that mark something real deserve a space that rises to meet them — not a reserved section at a restaurant, but a space that has been chosen and designed for the occasion.

The Velvet & Oak is that space. The historic building's character does the heavy lifting design-wise, and the ability to transform the room into whatever aesthetic the guest of honor loves — spring garden brunch or moody romantic dinner — means no two celebrations will ever look the same here.

Imagine 49 of your person's favorite people gathered under European chandeliers, surrounded by historic brick and beautiful florals, raising a glass to someone who has earned a genuinely stunning evening. That is what a milestone birthday looks like at The Velvet & Oak.

And for the families who want to make a full weekend of it? Book the suites upstairs. Let the guest of honor stay in a soaking-tub luxury suite overlooking the Snohomish River. Make the whole weekend feel as significant as the birthday itself.

Milestone birthdays are worth every photograph. And the people who most deserve beautiful photos are always the ones who say they hate being photographed — I'll handle that. Here's how coverage works:

•  Coverage: $750/hr · 2.5 hour minimum

• Add-on option: Dedicated portrait session with the guest of honor

• Turnaround: Hand-edited images within 30 days

• Gallery: Online with unlimited downloads + print rights

• Fully custom to your event

Check My Availability 

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Mitzvah Venue in Snohomish County — Intimate, Historic, and Completely Transformable

For families planning a Bar or Bat Mitzvah in Snohomish County, finding an intimate venue that feels elevated and meaningful — rather than generic banquet hall — is one of the harder parts of the planning process. The Velvet & Oak offers something different.

With seating for up to 49 guests, The Velvet & Oak is ideally suited for the more intimate Mitzvah celebration — the kind where every guest at the table actually knows the guest of honor. The historic space is fully transformable, which means the aesthetic can honor the family's vision completely, from traditional and elegant to modern and celebratory.

The building's two-floor layout also lends itself beautifully to a celebration that has multiple moments — a dinner in the event space, guests staying in the suites upstairs, a morning-after brunch to close out the weekend together.

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A Mitzvah is one of the most meaningful milestones a family celebrates. The images matter for generations — and they deserve a photographer who brings the same intentionality to the dinner table as they do to the ceremony. Here's what to know:

• Coverage: $750/hr · 2.5 hour minimum

• Turnaround: Hand-edited images within 30 days

• Gallery: Online with unlimited downloads + print rights

• Fully custom to your celebration

Let's talk about your Mitzvah

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Post-Wedding Brunch Venue in Snohomish — The Morning After Deserves This

The post-wedding brunch is having a well-deserved moment. Couples are realizing that the morning after the wedding — when the adrenaline has quieted and everyone is still together — is one of the most genuinely joyful gatherings of the entire weekend. And it deserves a space that honors that.

The Velvet & Oak was practically designed for this. The spring brunch aesthetic we captured during our styled shoot — the long table, the abundant spread, the light flooding through the restored windows — translates directly to a post-wedding brunch that feels warm, beautiful, and completely unhurried.

If the wedding party stayed in the 908 suites upstairs the night before, the morning unfolds naturally: soaking tubs cocooned in canopy drapes, robes and slippers embroidered with the 908 name, views of the Snohomish River and Historic First Street from many of the suite windows, and then everyone drifting downstairs to a table that has been set for one last beautiful meal together before the weekend ends. For couples who want to go the extra mile, [Evergreen Custom Gifting](https://www.evergreencustomgifting.com) creates custom locally-sourced welcome gifts that can be waiting in each suite when guests arrive — a detail that turns a beautiful weekend into an unforgettable one.

That full-building wedding weekend experience — rehearsal dinner Friday, bridal suite Saturday, post-wedding brunch Sunday — is The Velvet & Oak's most compelling offering. And right now, as a brand new venue on First Street, it is wide open for the couples who discover it first.

Want the morning after documented too? Nobody is performing for the camera at a post-wedding brunch. They're just happy. It photographs beautifully every single time. Here's how it works:

• Coverage: $750/hr · 2.5 hour minimum

• Weekend package: Already booking me for the rehearsal dinner Friday? We can bundle both

• Turnaround: Hand-edited images within 30 days

• Gallery: Online with unlimited downloads + print rights

• Fully custom to your event

Get in touch about your date

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A Note on The Space Itself

Before I go, I want to say one more thing about The Velvet & Oak beyond the events it can host — and it's something I felt the moment I walked in with my camera.

This building has been waiting for exactly this. The historic brick that was buried under layers of plaster. The original ceiling heights that were hidden above drop ceilings. The wooden doors and brass hardware that replaced aluminum and finally let the building exhale. Chelsea didn't renovate this space so much as she restored its dignity — and that comes through in every photograph.

As a photographer who has spent 13 years capturing celebrations in the Pacific Northwest, I can tell you that the spaces that photograph best are the ones where the design is rooted in something real. The Velvet & Oak is rooted in 125 years of First Street history, and it shows.

Suites begin at $349 per night.

Event space packages are available — the Grand Affair is their most-booked offering.

The venue is open and booking now.

Visit The Velvet & Oak at thevelvetandoakwines.com · 908 First Street, Snohomish, WA · @velvetandoakwines

Ready to Capture Your Celebration at The Velvet & Oak?

I am a Snohomish-area wedding and event photographer with over 13 years of experience and a deep love for this small town and the celebrations that happen here. The Velvet & Oak is ten minutes from my front door, and I can genuinely say it is one of the most beautiful event spaces I have ever photographed.

If you are planning any kind of celebration at The Velvet & Oak — a rehearsal dinner, bridal shower, baby shower, milestone birthday, Mitzvah, or post-wedding brunch — I would love to be there with my camera.

Photography by Becca Jones · B. Jones Photography · bjonesphotos.com · @bjonesphotos

Event Design: Pink Blossom Events·Floral: Goldenrod Floral · Stationery: Magnolia Marks Studio · Rentals: CORT Party Rental · Grazing Table: Herb & Grain · Custom Gifting:Evergreen Custom Gifting