Lake Oak Meadows Weddings and Events

ormation. Also, we had some DIY decor that we brought and the venue told us that they would put everything that was ours in a specific area to take home, but the staff did not follow through so my family had to look for the stuff that was ours and there were things that we never got back. Overall it was a good experience but there are some things that we were not happy with.

alcohol in the ceremony. It wasn't until two days later that we got fined for an "alcohol violation." Apparently we weren't supposed to hand out shooters. When I told management I had approval with my coordinator, they then changed the reasoning to because they found an empty beer can in the suite. I can say with 100% certainty that our bridal party did not bring any outside alcohol into the suite as requested. Friends and family did stop by the suite to say hi and probably left their trash behind. But we got fined $515 for trash left by people coming by to say hi. No employees mentioned anything to us on the day of or asked about outside alcohol. They literally fined us $500+ for trash left behind by wedding guests. We also paid for a second bartender that was non existent most the evening. When we asked the single bartender where he was, she slipped up and said they usually send him home around 7-8. We had to go to management and ask for the second bartender we paid for and were returned with nothing but a huge attitude. We never got our grand exit that we had requested and planned for! The venue communication leading up to the wedding was awful. Id go days and weeks without hearing back from anyone, and it seemed as if the things I requested were always lost in translation. They always blamed it on "changing management." The venue definitely is beautiful. My day of coordinator was very sweet and helpful. But I feel so disappointed by how we were treated by Lake Oak Meadows and for the insane amount of money we paid for the wedding, I would have definitely gone somewhere else.

your dreams come true and deliver nothing less than a fairy tale wedding! Mike and Corinne

fter a few drinks and dancing. Our day of coordinators were so helpful while I was having a breakdown in the bridal suite 😂 honestly everything was great. It really is a fairy tale venue and the food was amazing! My only downfall was underestimating the cost of everything- remember your contracted price is more of a “starting at” price and changes depending on how many guests you add and what package you chose. Make sure to Budget for insurance, security deposit, heaters if needed, etc. We’re both terrible at that and didn’t budget for all of the extra expenses but that’s our own fault! If I could have done it again I would still choose LOM again and again. Thanks LOM for everything! 💘

it was perfect. If they make you any promises make sure you get it in writing. I know businesses were effected by COVID, but their biggest issue was communication. No one told us our contact person had changed, they assigned us a new florist ( I had already signed a contract with the old florist), they no longer provided the tent for outside and we would have to get our own rental. We were initially told if we needed to we could add an extra hour at the end or beginning for a extra charge, but when it was close to the wedding they told us we couldn't add an extra hour. Four months out from the wedding we were informed they no longer provided the honeymoon suite on site, thankfully they refunded us. But it added more stress to now find a place to stay the night of our wedding four months away when mostly everything is sold out. There were other situations that added stress because of the lack of communication between previous employees and current employees , and the lack of communication from them to us.( construction on site, change in access) That is my biggest complaint and was the biggest headache and inconvenience. We chose this venue for convenience and everything they said would be included. We paid for all these things to be changed along the way. But why I've rated this venue four stars and not less is because the actual location and views saved it. All in all it was beautiful and the day of is the most important part. If I had to do it all again knowing what I know now I want to say I would pick a different venue. But there was nothing to prepare us for employee turn over, poor communication, and changes because of COVID. Without all of that I would rate Lake Oak Meadows five plus stars. With all that said love the scenery and how things turned out , and would suggest asking a lot of questions, getting promises in writing, and stay on top of communication even if they aren't reaching out to you.

ll the vendors picked out for us. The only vendors that they did not offer were the photographer and videographer. All the vendors were absolutely amazing to work with and they took our vision and made it a reality. After we signed our contract, we did notice that they were going through a Management change and there were minor hiccups with communication and some changes that were unexpected, including the Honeymoon suite being no longer available. However, we understand that with any big changes, there may be some small bumps. Some shoutouts for the people at LOM: Brenda was our day-of coordinator. She was attentive, supportive, and got everything done! We are so thankful to have Brenda to make sure everything went perfectly. Yasmin from Catering was also spectacular during our tasting and super responsive. Courtney is part of the venue coordinating team and always answered my emails/questions in such a timely manner. Victoria was also our bridal hostess and she was the best. She made sure that we had everything that we needed and was very welcoming. Thank you all! Let's talk about the actual day. It was the most magical wedding -- more than anything I could have ever imagined! The Bridal Suite was comfortable and beautiful for getting-ready photos. My bridesmaids, Mom, and I had such a wonderful time getting ready and spending quality time together before the ceremony. The ceremony itself was gorgeous. I opted to pay a little extra to ride on the horse & carriage, which is SO worth it (if you are on the fence about it, don't be! It totally blew my guests away and it was also a great time to have a nice chat with my dad before walking down the aisle). The entire night from cocktail hour to last dance was absolutely incredible. Amazing food, service, bartending, DJ, and more. I highly recommend LOM!

efore last minute) she was super on top of everything and made sure we were on time. The security was also super sweet and talked to me the entire time while I was waiting above the steps before walking down. Courtney and Victoria were very helpful and gave me their number just in case we needed anything. Of course some things were left behind and they were very accommodating on helping us find it. Everything was placed exactly where I wanted it and the DJ Taylor played AWESOME music! It was a fairy tale wedding come true.

working with them & planning things, they were impossible to communicate with. When first booking with them, we were told that we would begin to receive communication 6 months prior to our wedding to begin planning details. Nobody reached out & instead I had to initiate contact less than 3 months prior to ensure things would actually be taken care of & setup how we wanted. I dealt with countless situations where I would call, email & text several times in a day without any return communication. I understand they were inundated with Covid reschedules, but you'd think that after paying tens of thousands of dollars that they could at least return a phone call or reply to an email. What upset me the most was that we booked our wedding 18 months in advance. The main reason we selected LOM was because they were a closed & private venue; they reassured us that on wedding days, they close the grounds at 4 pm & ensure that all winery guests are off property prior to the start of the wedding. Unbeknownst to us, this changed at some point between booking our wedding & the actual date & they didn't even bother to communicate that this changed. Not only did their winery remain open during the duration of our ceremony & beyond, but we also dealt with drunk winery guests walking through & disrupting things during setup. Also, the extremely loud music that was playing at the winery overpowered our music & festivities as they were "only required to silence it during the ceremony but not the reception." In addition, I had over a hundred winery guests gawking over me while trying to take photos prior to the ceremony which made me feel extremely uncomfortable. Another major issue we experienced was their catering vendor dropping us less than 3 months before our wedding. They reassured us that they found a replacement but made it impossible for us to schedule a tasting and select our menu. After constantly having to pester them to get something scheduled, they finally accommodated us, however, it was only one month prior to our wedding & the items provided at the tasting were not what was requested. Therefore we had to blindly select our menu & cross our fingers that it would be what we hoped. In an attempt to request that they try & makeup for some of the hassle & inconveniences we had experienced, we asked what sort of compensation they could offer, if any. We were interested in the charger plates they had for rent & they promised that they would include these complimentary for the trouble. Come our reception, the table settings didn't include the charger plates & ended up looking plain. Had I known they weren't going to follow through on this promise, I would have provided these myself as it was a detail I wanted in our setup. Our day-of coordinator Hayley was very helpful getting things organized leading up to our wedding & ensured a smooth day from start to finish. However, our bridal party had to help with a fair amount of setup day-of that LOM wouldn't do. At the end of the day our wedding was amazing due to all the work we did on our end. The venue overall was extremely beautiful, but if I had to do it over, I'm not sure I would choose to work with LOM as they only added to the stress of planning a wedding.

en offered a small ceremony and the reception on a later date. I was impressed with the customer service I received! Then we came to the wedding day! My bridal attendant Brenda was amazing! I have her running around delivering things. Taking my wedding party here and there. She took it all in stride and made my morning so stress free! Our coordinator Hayley was an absolute angel! She went above and beyond to help us get our mostly diy wedding all set up. She rallied my rowdy group which is not the easiest to do! The recpetion was amazing as well! The catering was amazing and my guests were so impressed! Dj Mike was the best! Kept the party going for us! Hannah in the bar was the sweetest thing! She handles the busy bar so well! The serving staff and captain were amazing as well! They made sure the area was kept clean and our water and bellies full! Overall I could not have asked for a better experience! 10/10 recommend to any!

or the bridal suites. She was extremely helpful, cheerful and available for anything needed while getting ready. Our day of coordinator - Lisa - was an absolute Godsend! Several weeks before the wedding she spent a long time on the phone with my daughter detailing everything my daughter wanted. She was also available several times after for emails, questions and phone calls. She gave advice, helped with timelines and expectations and contacted all the vendors beforehand. She also was very patient as we gave her several revisions to the seating chart leading up to the day of the wedding. Lisa also made sure everything was set up exactly how we envisioned - even as we changed a few things last minute. When she was ready to leave just before the dinner started, she made sure to let me know she was leaving and that we were in good hands. For the rest of the evening, our DJ - Taylor - kept everything moving along flawlessly. Taylor had a great personality and did an incredible job! (If anyone needs a great DJ - look him up with Good Time Entertainment - you won't be sorry!) Adding to the spectacular evening was Temecula Catering. The food was delectable! So many of our guests have been raving about the food and saying it was the best they have ever had at a wedding. It truly was outstanding! The wait staff was superb as well! Even the security guard - Thomas - was extremely helpful and friendly! The staff and vendors provided by Lake Oak were unbelievably fantastic and treated us as if we were the most important people that day. Of course, the venue itself couldn't be any more beautiful. The grounds are some of the prettiest and most enchanting I have ever seen. The daylight showcases spectacular flowers along the water, gorgeous trees and beautiful vineyard areas, then the entire place lights up in the evening with twinkle lights everywhere, and fire in the lake! It was magical! The wedding and every moment of the day was absolutely perfect! Thank you thank you to Lake Oak Meadows and all the incredible staff and vendors!

ept. When the pandemic hit, LOM allowed us to move our date back with no issues and I had all the hope in the world that our promises would continue to be kept. Unfortunately, that was not the case. The venue actively chooses not to communicate ANY details to their couples. Sara C in the office was not only rude to me, but a few months out of our rescheduling wedding actively ignored each and every message I sent her unless I asked one of our vendors to talk to her on our behalf. Ashlynn was also extremely rude to me when I began to question of all of the changes that I was hearing through the grapevine of our vendors. Each change, such as a tasting no longer being offered complimentary and onsite at LOM with the caterer, the venue no longer being private, and a new bridal/groom get ready suite being built were things I learned through HORROR stories from our vendors. They blamed everyone on the COVID & needing to “keep their lights on.” Clearly, no couples were kept in the loop on any changes were practically gaslit by LOM staff when pushing back. I was told for weeks that I could not use the new bridal suites starting at 9am the day of my wedding despite the extra money I had paid for those additional hours. This is the because the new bridal suite is also the honeymoon suite? We were told we could use the room at 11am. After my VENDORS argued with LOM on my behalf because, as usual, Sara C ignored my every message, I was told 9am would be fine. Then, the night before the wedding I was told I could not use the new bridal suite until 11am (this is was 9pm THE NIGHT BEFORE) because the AC was failing. When I questioned this by stating I had been in the new bridal suite that morning and it was cold, suddenly it was because they needed to spray for ants. As if you can't plan to do that on any other day than the wedding I booked a year in advance (after rescheduling). It was a blatant lie. We were then told we would need to use the bridal suite that is now INSIDE THE WINERY. I was told no guests would be seated near the suites due to my complaints, but low and behold guests were seated directly outside the door and I was a zoo animal all afternoon. We also had an audience of strangers clapping during private moments. I was promised "additional amenities" for these issues and received nothing except a refund of less than $600 that was noted as an "overpayment." During the wedding, the LOM staff were dazed and confused. We paid an enormous amount of money for an open bar and 2 hours into wedding they tried to change to a cash bar until my father had to tell all of the bartenders to knock it off. If you want a venue that ignores you, takes your money and lies straight to your face then this is the venue for you. My recommendation, DO NOT HAVE YOUR WEDDING HERE.

ere told no outside guests would be allowed on the property after 2pm. Instead, we were informed one month before the wedding (and by a vendor - apparently Lake Oak Meadows had no intention of telling us) that they would have their winery open to the public during our wedding and reception. When we were addressed our concerns to lake oak meadows, we were reassured that there would be extra security, no noise, or people in sight from outside people. Wedding day comes around and we have drunken winery guests literally telling my now wife "f*** you" and calling her a "b*****", people flipping us off while we're taking our wedding pictures, other winery guests yelling at the mother of the bride, random strangers literally walking in to our wedding in plain clothes and eating our appetizers and wedding food because the venue didn't have enough security, the heaters not coming out until it was hours later when it was too cold and dark and half our guests already left, nothing being roped off like they said they would, a useless wedding coordinator, and none of our requests answered. The list goes on here really. Mind you, we're very cordial people - we didn't engage with these guests or were by any means unreasonable. We just spent our life savings on one day and expected a little bit of professionalism from Lake Oak Meadows. 2-3 Months later now and they are still ignoring us. Be warned - Lake Oak Meadows will lie to your face and as soon as they have your money, they won't respond, won't care about you, and will leave you to the wolves on your wedding day surrounded by drunk winery guests, incompetent security and staff, and unresponsive ownership. -- Here comes the generic auto-response from owner's trying to trick you into thinking they care (despite ignoring our emails the last couple months). Fun stuff. Save your money, go elsewhere :) Especially if you want private. Don't believe them haha.

This is a HORRIBLE venue! We had NO staff day of my wedding to help us. We were told the venue would be private and winery would be closed at 3 (hour before wedding started) and without notifying us we find out through a vendor they are leaving the winery open during our wedding. We had 3 fights before the wedding with drunk winery guests. One of those took place during my first look with my husband and a winery guest came up and started flipping me off saying “f*CK you” out of no where during a very special moment and wouldn’t leave us alone. There was NO security or staff to help even when we called for it. Our wedding parties had to come help us. Even our videographers and photographers had to get involved. It was out of control. Never getting an apology from the venue. The MOB got to an argument with winery guests that came and sat at our wedding tables that were set for the wedding. The winery guests started yelling at my mother. The winery didn’t give a damn about my wedding. We had to constantly try to keep winery guests out of our “private wedding”. there was winery guests in our restrooms causing long lines and even EATING OUR WEDDING FOOD! Nothing like we were promised or what was in our contract. Do NOT plan your wedding here!

of experience we would have when signing a contract with Lake Oak Meadows, we would have thought twice about moving forward. There's more to the list below, but to reflect how this venue operates, I feel this is enough information to warn others. I had read before booking that LOM runs as a wedding mill - aka - once you sign the contract and you hand over your money, they really stop caring about your experience. Had it not been for our wedding Coordinator and family stepping up and the venue itself being beautiful, our wedding would have been a disaster. 1.) Upon the second California stay-at-home orders issued in December 2021, Lake Oak Meadows made no effort to contact us regarding the suspension of business operations, and maintained that the venue was open for business on their public website. When we discovered by a bar tender working the tasting area in January that the venue was not conducting weddings, we made multiple efforts via phone and email to speak with anyone on the staff who could explain current circumstances. After several weeks without hearing back, we were finally told that the venue had indeed suspended holding weddings due to government policies, and it was Lake Oak Meadows' intent to call us 30 days prior to our event in order to discuss alternative dates for our event. That's not near enough time had we actually needed to move our event and tell guests of changes. 2.) Materials provided at the time we signed our contract stated that the winery would close to the public at 2pm on days when weddings were held, but the winery remained open to the public until 7pm on the day of our wedding along with live music hosted directly outside the bridesmaids and groomsmen suites. It interfered with us getting ready and the first look photos. 3.) Though our contract states that Lake Oak Meadows reserves the right to hold two events per day, again neither we nor our wedding coordinator were told there was a covid-pushed wedding scheduled for the morning of our event!!! They claimed that the morning wedding would have ended and the guests gone by 2pm, when she clearly had full knowledge that their contract lasted until 3pm. Also, the staff stated they would have additional clean up crews to flip the venue in time for our wedding. Despite these claim, the guests of the earlier event remained on site after 3pm, and the parents and siblings of the groom had to personally clean-up the ceremony site, remove flowers and linen from the arch, move chairs, and clear tables in order to begin setting up decor for our wedding.

they say. We found out AT OUR REHEARSAL, that was not the case. They blamed it on the COVID & needing to “keep their lights on.” As if our $30,000 is not enough to keep the lights on for a day. Amber said we “slipped through the cracks,” because we never postponed. After speaking to other brides, I realized she lied. None of the couples were kept in the loop. -We felt like zoo animals while taking photos. We had an audience of strangers clapping during private moments. Photos with random people in our background. We even had drunk winery guests crashing our reception. One of my bridesmaids had to go kick them out! No security whatsoever!! -We were supposed to have 2 bartenders. NOPE. One man was serving 110 guests. The line was endless! -We were told 4 weeks out that we could have our wedding as planned. Not only COULD we, but we HAD to. No postponing. No downsizing. No refunds. We were scrambling trying to reach the 125 we were forced to pay for our Saturday wedding. When we realized that was not possible, it took weeks to finally reach Amber. -We held off on sending our final payment until we heard from Amber. Never once did they ask for it & it did not rush her to return our calls. However, as soon as we “conceded,” they needed their money right then & there. They were all over us with calls/emails about the money, but took WEEKS when we needed to talk. -They offered venue concessions. (Heaters, extra suite hours, lanterns, etc) We settled on heaters, honeymoon suite & a deduction of the prepaid extra hours from our final payment. $1300 concessions for $3500 loss. There were no heaters!!! 6 heaters x $75 = $450. I’m sure that was their plan all along. Throw in heaters, but not actually give them. Our guests were freezing! -My husband went to check in to the groom’s suite at 12:20 (already late because they didn't send a golf cart) only to be told, “we don’t have you down until 1 pm.” We had it booked for noon for over a year!! The locks were broken & they had drunk wine guests stumbling in to pee, w/ all their valuables laying around!! -Our coordinator was awful. Everyone was going to our officiant thinking she was in charge. Angela, our coordinator, left as we were eating. I only really saw her was when she told me she was leaving. She was snappy & rude with my bridesmaids and vendors. -Our wedding ended at 10. At 10:04 we had a female security guard get aggressive in the groom’s face because our cars weren’t moved yet! 4 MINUTES after our wedding ended. The DJ had to step in to stop the woman! -The next morning I woke up to an email from Amber. She had the NERVE to say, “your guest count did not end up not being effected by COVID.” On our paperwork, I wrote 125 because, as I told her, “if I’m being forced to pay for 125, they better be cooking 125 meals.” She said, “The many comped upgrades we agreed to apply to your invoice were based on the fact that that you’d be at a financial loss. I am in discussions with accounting on how to solve this. I’ll let you know asap what needs to be done." When I responded with facts, & threatened a lawyer if she sends an invoice, we never heard back. DO NOT HAVE YOUR WEDDING HERE!! There are other beautiful venues that will treat you like an actual human.

hey are not out of pocket for resources not spent. They are criminal...next step-lawsuit and CA Section 17000-unlawful and fraudulent business practice. Everyone should run , not walk to an attorney!

money back or even considering to meet in the middle. I am so upset with this venue and it’s the worst customer service ever! Brides look out and go find yourself another venue!!!

nitely not recommend this place to any of my friends future weddings. This sounds like horrible management!!

e refusing to refund all the money paid when no services were rendered. We were scheduled to have our wedding in July, it was up in the air whether the wedding had to be postponed or not. They asked us to choose a backup date, so we chose one for next year. After the backup date was chosen the venue informed us that the wedding could happen on the original date, this year in July. My fiance and guests finalized flight and hotel bookings, took time off work, and spent a lot of money. 10 days later, they email us saying they had to postpone the wedding due to Covid-19. This was after it was already agreed the wedding would continue. The venue refused to offer a refund when we requested and said if we wanted to cancel it was on us and we would loose our money! This is horrible customer service and not legal. I know am in the process of taking the venue to small claims to try and get my money back. Long story short, I wouldn't trust them unless you have $10,000 and more to throw away.

imes and have now been told we need to reschedule a 4th. I have asked numerous times to be contacted via telephone and am still waiting to talk to a human being. I have been told emphatically via email that we cannot be refunded any of our money despite the fact that we are going on 6 months passed our original wedding date. Lake Oak Meadows has no idea when they will be able to perform weddings because absolutely NOBODY does due to COVID. They continue to push our date out with zero concern for us or our guests and the strain it puts on us. They are holding us hostage by refusing to cut us loose despite the fact that they have been paid in full for our wedding for over 8 months and cannot live up to their end of our contract. I was told the President of the corporation would be contacting me directly 5 days ago and have still yet to hear from anybody. Thank you for taking our money and not providing us with anything in return...not even a phone call.

oked venue! We feel so lucky to be a Lake Oak Meadows couple, when it comes to a unique experience! From the handpicked vendors, they make it easy to try and transform your future with starting with an amazing wedding! From the owner Anthony to finding a solution always & being the BEST & understanding and knowing their reputation is to keep up the hard work & determination of not just being a wedding venue/ winery but they DO IT ALL LIKE A BOSS! They make it their stand point to keep that vision alive & really feel good about making their clientele happy! All I can say is we were fortunate to have been married at this magical, fairytale venue, you cant help but feel so compelled to come back and relive the joy of LOVE, this place offers! It truly amazes me that I can say I got married here because dreams can happen, especially with a team like LAKE OAK MEADOWS! The owners know what their doing no doubt about that!!! Thank you We love you!!!!

ng so magical about that place. We loved that the venue was all inclusive. We thought we wanted more freedom at first, but after everything was said and done, it made everything much easier. The staff were communicative and friendly from beginning to end. The food was great! Our guests loved the food, and the service staff were very attentive. Thank you Temecula Catering! Our cake from Bo Cakes was absolutely delicious! We did not have any leftover. Angela was the best coordinator. She understood my vision and made it come to life! I highly recommend LOM!!!! Oh and the wine was delicious!!! Our guests couldn't get enough :)

coordinating with other vendors such as a DJ, caterer, and bakery. The vendors they currently use that serviced our wedding was: Dj -Good time DJ services Caterer -Temecula Catering Bakery -BoCakes Bakery All included vendors were kind and professional. The taste testing with the caterer provided generous portions. The food was above average and the guests didn’t have any complaints (we had an intimate wedding of 55 guests and most of them would have felt more than comfortable to let us know if the food was bad hahah). The cake was just as delicious and fresh on the day of the wedding as it was when we did the taste testing. The DJ, Mike, was very professional and kind and completed a playlist that accurately depicted our taste in music and the vibes we wanted throughout the night. But the one person who singlehandedly made our wedding day go seamlessly was our coordinator, Angela. On the wedding day she was calm, cool and collected. She knew how to present last minute situations where decisions needed to be made, all without causing a panic or fuss. She was professional when interacting with the outside vendors (florist and photographer). Overall she was quick to respond to questions/emails the whole time leading up to the wedding. Angela is the customer service backbone to Lake Oak Meadows. I gave four stars because this venue definitely made for a beautiful and memorable wedding, but there were a few areas ready for improvement. The length of the wedding could be a little longer. It is 5 hours in length, so if you start at 430 it will end at 930. Also the venue does not possess a liquor license so to get around this they have substituted with rice liqour called “soju”. It wasn’t a deal breaker but looking back and taking a poll from our guests (who didn’t know it wasn’t the typical vodka or whiskey) it seems to be less potent and less flavored. The office staff was professional most of the time, but a “cold” kind of professional. They could also lay off the “rules and waivers” forms, especially the week before the wedding. It’s definitley a buzzkill to be sent a list of redundant rules to sign and initial the week before your wedding(especially since I’m sure these rules were already agreed to upon contract signing 10 months prior). A couple times I had called to upgrade the buffet and bar packages, and a rude and haggard voiced woman answered and made me feel stupid. I thought it was pretty uncool because people literally spend thoundands if dollars for one day at their business. But whatever, I got what I needed and thankfully you don’t have to deal with the office people very often. Bottom line: I would definitely plan our wedding here again if we could do it all over. I recommend this venue for the quality of the vendors, the beautiful landscape, and the amazing coordinator that they provided.