Lowndes Grove Plantation

I came here for a corporate event so I can’t speak to what it was like to plan an event with them. I can only talk about my experience there and the location.
When we were told we were going to have dinner at an old plantation, I thought it would be a trek from our downtown hotel. Surprisingly, it was not. Located right along the Ashley River and a convenient 11 minute drive from the historic Charleston market area, Lowndes Grove Plantation was an easy destination for an event.
I didn’t get too much of the history, but The main house is from around 1786. For our event we were allowed to wander the house and the grounds. It was nice to wander the rooms and check out the three story spiral staircase. The second floor balcony was a great vantage point to
Look out over the great lawn and the event we had organized below.
I can’t really track down any information on the property’s actual «plantation» history, but the old house had some charm, and the grounds were lovely to stroll.
I definitely took some time to walk down the dock and enjoy the river and to sit along the bank and watch the sunset.
The property uses an in-​house caterer for the events, and the were on point. We were met upon arrival with mint juleps to accompany us as we explored the venue. We had passed hors d’oeuvres that included BBQ chicken dumplings and chicken and waffles. We also had two stations for some more Southern/​Low Country signature dishes for our enjoyment. The Shrimp and Grits were delicious as was the BBQ pulled pork which was really more of a mustard pork. I never really considered mustard on pork, but it was delicious as well. The hush puppies were good and they served their salads in a mason jar. I hadn’t seen that before and it was pretty cool.

Beautiful location. Was a guest so I am only certain that everything is beautiful here even without the decorations.

My husband and I had our wedding at Lowndes Grove in March of last year, and it was a truly wonderful, perfect day for us. There were some things that could be improved (aren’t there always?) but overall we were happy with everything.
We signed our contract about a year ahead of time and never had any issues with double-​booking. Getting married at Lowndes Grove is not cheap — they don’t pretend that it is, either — but it’s worth it. Since we got married during a non-​peak month, we were able to forego the expensive food and beverage minimum, which was a huge part of why we finally agreed to sign the contract.
On the «This is why I loved getting married at Lowndes Grove» front, the house is truly stunning. There is nothing else this beautiful, in my opinion, in Charleston. It’s just a stunning backdrop to a really beautiful moment in your life. The food, all of which is required to go through their catering company (Fish), is absolutely out of this world. We did four passed apps (ham and gouda biscuits, almond and brie filo, bacon-​wrapped scallops, crab cakes) before our three-​course plated dinner (cheese plate, shecrab soup, then a choice of filet or salmon) and everything was delicious. People are still talking about how tasty everything was over a 18 months later.
One thing to note: with Lowndes Grove, you have to bring EVERYTHING in – from tent to chairs to knives. They’re upfront about it and are great about working with your coordinator to make sure you have enough of everything, but it can be overwhelming. (This is one of about 1,000 reasons I’m glad we used Katherine Miller events for coordination; I never got stressed about rentals.)
In the «this is where they could improve» file …
1. We worked with Amber initially and then later with Shannon, who served as our event manager. They were both really nice, but neither were terribly quick to reply to emails or phone calls. Amber took about 24 hours and Shannon usually took a bit longer, unless she was requesting a payment. I know everyone wants to get paid, but our last payment was due the Friday before our wedding. No big deal … except that I was at an off-​site event for a client that was really, really critical to my agency keeping the client long-​term. I couldn’t get to the phone or respond to emails promptly because I was working from about 6 a.m. until 7 p.m. that day. Instead of saying, «Oh, can you just call or email us later/​tomorrow to approve the payment,» I was told that they were running the card that day no matter what. So my coordinator had to get my husband, who was in business meetings at the time, to stop what he was doing to manage the payment process. It was very poorly handled and when you’re spending that kind of money, a little flexibility goes a long, long way.
2. Our dinner service went out more slowly than we anticipated/​wanted. When you only have a venue for five hours and they require your guests to be leaving by 10:30 p.m., running late on our dinner service isn’t all that ideal. The other thing that happened during our dinner service, which was minor but an annoyance, was that we’d discussed them serving the soup course Russian style, where they pour it table side. Somehow, that note wasn’t observed so everything came out already poured. It was a slight disappointment to know that they’d forgotten, but there was nothing we could do about it at the time.
My husband and I wouldn’t have done a single thing differently about having our wedding at Lowndes Grove. It was 100% perfect for us. Really, if those two things were the biggest complaints we have from our wedding day (which they are), then we got out really, really well.

We recently hosted our wedding at Lowndes Grove. The biggest draw to this venue is that it is gorgeous (but, so is Magnolia and Rice Mill House). However, everything else about working with Patrick Properties/​Lowndes Grove and staying in their room was difficult/​sub-​optimal for many reasons:
1. They double-​booked the venue and told us 3 weeks prior to the wedding. Their excuse was that they took «poor notes.»
2. The service was terrible. There was not enough people and even worse our guests are still talking about the rude bartender who asked everyone for tips, complained that they were understaffed and made many snarky comments to our guests. He was even rude to me and the groom. Our whole brunch the next morning was filled with guests talking about their encounters with the rogue bartender.
3. The food is mediocre. I could go into details, but you get the picture.
The venue is expensive and they explain their high fees/​food costs by raving about their food and service… go with this place because it is beautiful, but have low expectations regarding everything else.

3.5 stars, really. My cousin had his wedding at Lowndes on a Friday night. Overall I would say it was a pretty location and a fun experience, but that a few key things could definitely use improvement. (See A and B below.)
Lowndes is easy to get to, although the surrounding neighborhood is fairly average and residential, so at first we weren’t sure we were in the right place. But once you get close enough, the property can be seen through an elegant gate that goes all the way around. There was a small lot to park in, and shuttles that ran to and from a few of the hotels downtown.
The ceremony was held on the lawn in front of the house. It was positively lovely, although we were facing the sun, which was annoying at times. There were some trees that helped make it bearable.
After the ceremony, there was a fantastic cheese spread in the house by the guest book, and the rest of the reception was held on the back lawn, both on a pavilion under a large tent and on the open grass, all the way out to the marshes. There were several food stations in the tent area, and the dessert table was set up under a tree with hanging lanterns. By far they served the best wedding food I’ve ever had, and I’ve been to over half a dozen in the past three years. There was prime rib, fried turkey, almond brie pastries, gouda and ham mini-​sandwiches, crab cakes, shrimp cocktail, paella… and more. Everything was seriously delicious, and that’s the main reason Lowndes gets 4 stars instead of 3.
Our major issue was with the outdoor seating arrangement. (A) There were only enough seats for 1/​3, maybe ½ of the guests. This was both strange and uncomfortable. Women wearing heels for hours really need a place to sit, along with older folks, or anyone who wants to eat and drink with ease. Several of us ended up having to sit on the low brick wall of the pavilion. Then (B) there were mosquitoes. Most of us left with half a dozen to a dozen bites. Not exactly a fun party favor.
But if those 2 things could be remedied, then Lowndes would easily get 5 stars from me.