About this vendor
Here at Southern Oaks, we strive to make your big day as relaxing as possible. We offer venue rental as well as packages that can include custom fresh floral, decor, and several meetings with our onsite event planners. We have a la carte items such as champagne walls, vintage sofa's, buffets, tables, whiskey barrels, chandelier rings and so much more. We strive to provide your dream wedding at an affordable price.
The house, that is now the face of Southern Oaks, was built in 1820. With its original wooding and design, this house is what makes our venue stand out from others. It includes a Bridal Suite, Groom's Room, a Den Area for parents and grandparents to relax, and a recently added "Ladies Loft" just for hair and makeup. The home is filled with large, elegant chandeliers and stunning furniture. The property has 3 historic barns, a chapel, 2 patio decks and the largest reception area in Lexington County.
The deck includes patio furniture with fire pit, bistro tables, cocktail tables and a bar. Perfect for cocktail hour! The land is full of large pecan and oak trees, along with breathtaking landscape. One of the things that makes Southern Oaks unique is the amount of lawn space we have and it is surrounded completely with evergreen trees. This venue has grown and changed since it opened in 2015, Your guest will be pleasantly surprised at this southern gem nestled between Gilbert and Lexington only minutes from Lake Murray and downtown Lexington. With Southern Oaks, you get the enjoyment of a Southern setting within miles of many popular restaurants, hotels, Lake Home Rentals to accommodate out of town guest.
Venue rental is based on the weekday of the event, and packages are optional.
Amenities + details
Ceremony Area
Covered Outdoors Space
Dressing Room
Handicap Accessible
Indoor Event Space
Outdoor Event Space
Reception Area
Wireless Internet
Liability Insurance
On-Site Accommodations
Business Attributes
- Woman-owned Business
Ceremony Types
- Commitment Ceremony
- Elopement
- Non-Religious Ceremony
- Religious Ceremony
- Second Wedding
- Vow Renewal Ceremony
Settings
- Backyard
- Barn
- Historic Venue
- Industrial & Warehouse
- Loft
- Religious Setting
Venue Service Offerings
- Bar & Drinks
- Bar Rental
- Planning
- Rentals & Equipment
- Service Staff
Awards and Affiliations
3-Time 'Best of Weddings'
2023.2022.2021.
Best of Weddings
The Knot independently assesses vendors for this award—it’s never self-reported. We base it on firsthand experiences from real couples and guests, and they must have a 4.5-star average across 7+ reviews in the qualifying year.
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Reviews
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4.9
out of 5.064 reviews
Review photos
Showing slide number 1 out of 2
The venue was amazing, and the people were even better. We loved all of the vendor recommendations and met some truly wonderful people. They made the entire process so easy and str...
ess-free, which allowed us to focus on what mattered most—marrying the love of my life.
I am so excited for my wedding in May. Pam and Bre have been absolutely fantastic!!
Southern Oaks is a beautiful venue with a chapel, reception hall, and outdoor area. This venue was easy to schedule a tour, and the packages were good in value. The planning proces...
s was unorganized at times, with renovations being done that the venue would not provide photographs of before the event, despite us being from out of state. The day of the event ran smoothly with assistance from the staff in coordinating the decor setup and breakdown. One downside is that tours are offered during the day of events, and the staff did not provide a lot of information before leaving the venue for the day, which led to some confusion. I requested the wifi password for the house because the password provided did not work, and I never received the password after requesting it, so it felt as if that request had been forgotten. All bags have to be taken out of the house before the ceremony begins, except for the bride and groom's belongings, which makes it difficult to coordinate on the day of the schedule when planning photos and time to have the wedding party put their belongings in their vehicles. Prior to booking this vendor, I scheduled a tour with the venue; however, we ended up touring the venue by ourselves because another tour was taking place at the same time, so it was not as easy to ask questions about the venue. All in all, we enjoyed our experience, but the communication and attentiveness could be improved to give other couples a better experience.
Southern Oaks is a beautiful venue. My day was absolutely perfect. Beforehand, a little shaky.
The meeting with Bre about flowers/decor was so easy! I told her my vision from her ...
example binder and she ran with it. Everything turned out gorgeous.
Communication is not as good because of the hours they work. Off on Mondays and fully occupied on weekends with other weddings. If you need an answer before a certain day, text/email way before then.
Also, my coordinator was not told where the throw away bouquet was placed before Bre left. So when it was time for my bouquet toss later in the night, we lost momentum waiting for someone to find the bouquet.
They don't allow you to store anything in their storage areas due to liability. I get it, people take advantage of other people's kindness and the venue had to deal with the fallout. Not going to lie though, it was inconvenient since we DIY'd some of the big things we wanted.
3 hours before our rehearsal, Patti called and told us we could not use the chapel to rehearse. They just had concrete poured.... I let it roll off my back and we used the reception hall. But girl, I could've had a breakdown and crashed out; and I would've felt completely in the right.
All things considered, it was a gorgeous place to get married. But for the price, hassle, and communication issues, I would book at an AirBnB or a national park if I had to choose again.
I can not say enough! This place was amazing and absolutely beautiful! I didn’t have to worry about anything and had the best day of my life!
While I love this venue and think it is beautiful I had several issues that would not allow me to give it a high rating. I was hoping that the venue would have reached out to me wi...
th an explanation or apology but that did not happen.
1. I asked, numerous times, for a specific flower to not be used in the reception or ceremony and that flower was used more than any other flower. My coordinator asked them about this before the wedding and they still used this flower.
2. Bud vases had only 1 flower in them considering how much floral costs this felt very cheap to me.
3. During both of my in person meetings I asked about the whitle lights in the courtyard and in the garden atrium and I was assured that they would be working. They were not. The only reason I know why is due to me asking my coordinator and she had to go find out. I was not told by the venue.
4. In the house that I was able to use to get ready there was a smoke detector that needed it's battery changed that kept beeping. That made the day unpleasant for me.
5. Your bridesmaids are not allowed to leave their bag in the house and the bride is only allowed 1 bag to be left. So after getting ready, right before walking down the isle the bridemaids all had to return their stuff to their cars. This was not okay. My bag and my dress (the part I did not wear) was not wear I had it hangning. Instead it was laid on a couch in another room without my permission and knowledge.
6. Be advised that emails do not get answered and texts only get answered a few days a week.
Southern Oaks is a beautiful venue in and of itself but working with Pam and Bree was icing on the cake. They took my (pretty vague) general idea about flowers and decor and transf...
ormed my vision into the most perfect, beautiful chapel and reception hall. I love the fact that they design all the florals in house and they have so many decor items to choose from. They truly made my day so beautiful and stress-free. I highly recommend Southern Oaks.
Southern Oaks made planning my wedding 10 times easier! They were super responsive to questions and helped with decor and finding vendors. Day of the wedding, the wedding planner S...
arah was on top of everything and made sure the evening ran smoothly!
Absolutely love Bre and Pam! They make wedding planning less stressful! We have them our daughter’s vision from flowers, food, decorations to setup and they made it a dream come ...
true. They coordinated the catering, cake delivery, setup for all the vendors and literally made the day happen without any issues. It was a dream come true!
I cannot say enough to describe how great the southern oaks team is. Pam and Bre take all the stress and hassle out of planning. From start to finish the wedding was perfect and ...
everything we ever dreamed of. I definitely recommend their package options. We had no regrets with choosing Southern Oaks Event Venue for our wedding and reception.
Getting married on 11/12/2023 and so far, southern oaks has been amazing! Great price and people. Book fast!
We took a tour of Southern Oaks a few weeks back and we couldn’t have found a more perfect venue. I have always visioned being wedded under a large oak tree on an open lawn and th...
at’s exactly what was offered! Our date is set for November 2, 2024 which comes to a surprise for some family and friends since it’s not exactly right around the corner, but the wait does not matter to us. For I am certain that this is where I want our memories to be made.
I will be getting married here next year, 05/23 and we could not be more excited! Pam has been very attentive and it always ready to answer questions. My future sister in law got m...
arried here in 2019 and it was so beautiful and she had such a smooth and perfect day because off all of the staff!
The staff made my wedding day so stress free and the most enjoyable experience!
This was a wonderful venue to work with. They cover every detail and help your vision become reality on your day. Thank you to Southern Oaks for all you did for me and my husband.
Best place to get married!
Southern Oaks exceeded our expectations in every way possible! Our entire experience with them was stress free. The owners and staff made sure our entire day was planned out perfec...
tly and everything was taken care of. We had a smooth, problem-free day and that is all thanks to Pam and her staff. We really felt like a part of the Southern Oaks family. Our day was so special and we will remember it for the rest of our lives thanks to Southern Oaks!
Such sweet and caring people! Beautiful venue and amazing staff to boot. Love everything about this place.
The best of the best. Bre and Pam are amazing. Made every such a breeze!
I will be getting married here next year & I have had nothing but a positive experience so far! The venue is amazing, but the owners, even better! That says A LOT! I highly recomme...
nd tying the knot at Southern Oaks!
Absolutely the best!! Simple yet beautiful! Sweetest people too!!
My wedding day was phenomenal! The process of planning so seamless and my wedding day coordinator (Damien) made the entire day worry free.
Pam and Bre are so easy to work with! I cannot wait to get married here 12/11/22. The venue is beautiful!!!
We have not got married here yet, but so far they have been wonderful with messaging me back and with planning! They are so sweet and work with you to make sure you have the most p...
erfect wedding! Highly recommend this beautiful place to get married!
So excited for our wedding coming up in May, 2023! Pam & Bre are great and have made the planning process so easy!
My husband and I got married at Southern Oaks in April of 2022. Other than the groom, Southern Oaks was the smartest choice I made while planning the wedding. Everything was so eas...
y and stress free. Pam and Bre always responded quickly to any questions. We also used Bre as our photographer, so the whole process was just seamless and smooth! The venue was absolutely gorgeous! Not only the beautiful grounds and the giant white oak, but the flowers and decor were perfect! Everyone kept telling me how surprised they were that I was such a calm bride, but with the Southern Oaks team, I had nothing to stress or worry about! I absolutely loved everything about this venue!
Pam and her staff were absolutely incredible! Made our day flawless. Highly recommend!
The best venue in Lexington, SC and Columbia! Pam and her staff are fantastic!
I am so excited to be having my wedding here next year! They have been great at communicating with me & I loved the venue from the moment I visited it ❤️
Southern Oaks made our wedding day the most magical and stress-free day ever! They provided the decorations, food, DJ and photography suggestions, coordinator, and were so helpful ...
every step of the way.
Southern Oaks was truly a dream come true. If you are looking for a gorgeous, southern style venue that makes the majority of your wedding planning stress free, this place takes 1s...
t place. Pam and Bre were such a huge help assisting me to make sure every detail was taken care of. The catering staff, bartenders went above and beyond to make this day so amazing, our friends are still talking about it! If you are still unsure about a wedding venue, I’d recommend visiting Southern Oaks! You won’t regret it!
They have been amazing with the whole process. I can’t wait to have my wedding there! 03.10.23
I booked Southern Oaks the week after I got engaged and have had the best time working with Bree and Pam! They are both so very helpful and make the planning process super smooth!...
The venue is absolutely gorgeous with covered ceremony and reception areas! Cannot wait for my big day!
The most beautiful venue and great packages!!! So excited to get married on 3/11/23! The owners are amazing and the biggest help with everything!! It’s going to be the best day💗
This wedding venue is the best by far! From the tour to the send off on our wedding day, we had the best service ever! The staff and packages they offer are amazing!
After attending a wedding here a few years ago - I couldn’t believe this wasn’t my first spot to think of when it was our turn to look for venues! The staff is so kind & the value ...
is excellent!
My wedding was in July 2022, and we opted for the full wedding planner package with Erika. Erika was very friendly, accessible, and had excellent communication throughout the entir...
e process. I can’t begin to cover everything that she did. One of the best benefits of working with Erika was that she was able to connect us with really great vendors and found us a fantastic officiant (Kevin Holland), hair & makeup team (Wedded Kiss), and photographer team (Reg & Kala Photograph). This saved us a lot of time and effort, and everyone she suggested was really fantastic to work with. Erika was very hands on, and I especially appreciated her help setting up all of the decorations the day before the wedding. I have a very demanding job, so while I was at work, Erika picked out the napkins and linens, designed the invitations, entered all of the guest information into the wedding website, and much more. I am really happy with how the wedding turned out. Erika definitely knows what she’s doing and knows how to make your wedding vision come to life! The entire staff was very professional and helped the whole planning process and wedding day to run smoothly.
Southern Oaks is perfect. From the moment we stepped foot on the property we knew it was where we had to get married. Not only is the property beautiful from the chapel, to the oak...
trees, the exposed beams in the reception hall, the long wooden tables, and the lighting but its the team that really makes it. Having Pam and Bre and Damien assist throughout and take care of all the little details like the color of the napkins, the florals, chairs, etc. takes away so much stress from you and your partner while planning. Our wedding day was perfect and we couldn't imagine it anywhere else but at Southern Oaks. If you are looking for a magical place with a team that is by you every step of the way, look no further - you have found it.
They were amazing! Loved the venue and the space that it offered!
Staff was very professional and accommodating.
The staff at Southern Oaks were absolutely phenomenal. Bre and Damien were guiding us every step of the way before the wedding and the day of. They made sure every little detail wa...
s taken care of and made our day as stress free as possible. Our guests are still complimenting the venue and how gorgeous everything was. 10/10 recommend.
Southern Oaks coordinated and hosted my dream wedding. My husband and I had the best wedding day, everything was smooth and effortless for us. The venue is extremely clean and the...
decorations they provided were classic and beautiful. Bre helped us throughout the entire process and she is so organized. She communicates well and is very professional. We put our trust and her and from the beginning and she did not disappoint. The rest of the staff were also very professional and considerate. Our guests were very impressed as were we! I would recommend this venue to anyone!!
Can’t say enough amazing things about this venue!! Pam and Bré are fantastic and made the entire experience special and exactly what we wanted
A great facility!! The decorations and set-up were absolutely beautiful! The staff was also very friendly and polite! Highly recommend!
We stumbled upon Southern Oaks by chance while we were looking at another wedding venue, and it turned out to be the best thing to happen to us while planning our wedding! Pam and ...
Bre have extensive knowledge of wedding planning as well as great connections for other vendors that won't break the bank. During our first planning meeting, I was pretty underprepared but Pam was able to help me create a vision after I showed her a handful of pictures of ideas that I had saved. The other person who really helped make our wedding day the absolute best was the Day of Coordinator/Wedding Director. He made everything run so smoothly and didn't hesitate to continually ask us what we needed in order to relax and enjoy ourselves. Our friends and family can't stop talking about how much of a great time they had at our wedding!
Amazing all around!! I could not ask for a more amazing experience and time at Southern Oak. From the first time visiting the venue until the moment of sharing my Wedding hands dow...
n an awesome experience. Great staff, Bre, and awesome day of coordinator.
This place is absolutely AMAZING! You can definitely tell that Bre & Pam put their heart, souls, and mind into every little detail! The staff was excellent, food was great, and dec...
oration were phenomenal!! Couldn’t have been more impressed!!
i was recently a guest at the venue for a wedding, and must i say what a pleasant time i had. The venue is absolutely beautiful, and the employees were nothing but helpful and welc...
oming!
Pam and Bre made our wedding absolutely wonderful. I showed them all of my ideas for very bohemian wedding with dried flowers and greenery and they made it look absolutely amazing!...
We had so much fun and anything we needed, we just had to ask. Such a wonderful venue, wonderful staff to make for an amazing wedding day!
So grateful for Pam and all the staff at Southern Oaks. Pam was able to work with us while we planned our wedding during COVID. She was so accommodating and flexible with so much. ...
I appreciate everything that she did to make our wedding the best I could ever imagine or dream of. You won’t regret booking Southern Oaks for one of the most special days of your life.
Contact
2401 Highway 378, Gilbert, SC
