The Ball House and Cottages at SouthWood Reviews

The Ball House and Cottages were so great to work with. After losing our first venue due to the county shutting them down, we were able to secure this beautiful location. If only we had known about this place before, it would have saved us from so much stress. Tim was very responsive, flexible and provided great service. He went over and above to ensure my daughter’s wedding was perfect. This place was perfect for our wedding of 230 guest. We used all 5 cottages and the 4 bedrooms upstairs for the wedding party. This made it so easy to stay onsite for the entire weekend. Received so many compliments on the venue and how beautiful the wedding was! Thank you Tim! This is the perfect place for a classic southern wedding with all the amenities.

Kathy has been so sweet to work with! We love the look of the Ball House and can’t wait to have our wedding there!

I couldn't be happier with how my daughter's wedding turned out at the Southwood House! It.was.stunning. We utilized the front lawn under the arch of an oak tree for the ceremony, the front porch and inside the house for the cocktail hour and the back yard for the dinner and dancing, and it was absolutely perfect! I did end up having to tent the back due to possible rain (and it poured four separate times before the wedding), but everyone thought the tent (from InTents Event) added to venue and it allowed us to decorate before the ceremony regardless of weather conditions. The weather was perfect for the entire event, and we couldn't be happier with the way the wedding turned out. The house is very accommodating for large crowds and truly gives a Southern hospitality feel. It comes with the most gorgeous furniture that you are allowed to use in the inside of the house. We also used the cottages for the bridal party, which was perfect, and the day of the wedding we utilized the entire upstairs for breakfast, lunch and a pre-wedding toast. It was beautiful! Jessica was great as well! She was extremely responsive to emails -- even during her maternity leave -- and was very knowledgeable of the entire venue and how to run an event well at this venue. We had guests from all over, and they said it was magical. I agree. Love.this.place.

This venue is absolutely gorgeous!! My wedding day was perfect. Jessica was amazing, everything ran so smoothly because of her!

The Southwood house was beautiful and Jessica along with the rest of the staff were phenomenal. Southwood is the only plantation home in the area that allows you to use the actual house and get ready inside. We used the golf club for catering as well, and when we didn't love one of the options, Tim let us come back and try different items. All around a perfect day and Jessica was a great coordinator who was a huge part in making our day incredible!

We used the Southwood House & Cottages for our ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception, and booked all the cottages for us & our parents to stay in during the wedding weekend. Jessica Worden is a true asset to Southwood--she was our contact throughout the process and I definitely asked her more questions than any other vendor (by far), but she never made me feel like I was a burden or a hassle at all. In fact, she was on maternity leave during wedding planning and with a new baby, took the time to respond to emails and questions (talk about going above and beyond!). My singular regret about our wedding is that we couldn't use Jessica as our wedding day-of coordinator (though the one we used was wonderful), just because she is so helpful and calm. She was great about changing the menu, updating our contract, scheduling numerous tastings, and making suggestions for how things would work best or what wouldn't work. She always went out of her way to make sure we were happy and satisfied with how things were going. Our wedding was absolutely beautiful--the grounds & House were immaculate day-of and the cottages were gorgeous--it was so convenient to be right on site. I do wish we could've gotten a late check-out the morning after, but the cottages were booked (can't be helped so I understand). I will say that a food & beverage staff member was driving around the morning-of on a golf cart at the venue, & I asked him if he could get me a key to my cottage from the clubhouse. He bluntly said that he is food & beverage, nothing to do with the cottages, but that I could go down to the clubhouse myself & get a key. I asked if he could drive me (since it was the morning of the wedding and I [the bride] was rushing to be on schedule), and he said no, that I could walk. I found that pretty off-putting. That said, Tim Allen (food and beverage director) and head Chef Mike were also wonderful, and the entire rest of the staff of Southwood was great day-of. Thank you everyone!

From the moment I laid eyes on this place I knew I wanted it to be the place for my wedding.

We held our ceremony in the Plantation House. We could not have been more please with everything. Jessica was extremely flexible and professional. We enjoyed working with her throughout the experience. On the day of the wedding, she was on hand and was no phased when we made the decision (at the last minute almost) to move the ceremony outside. Her experience paid off significantly for us. Also, our bartender, Kyle, was extremely professional and courteous. We had a specialized cocktail for the reception. He learned it quickly and make it to perfection every time.

We also spent the wedding night in a cottage. That was the perfect setting for beginning our married life together.

Kudos to Southwood!!!

The SouthWood House and Cottages was the PERFECT venue for our ceremony and reception! Many of our guests referred to our wedding as "A Real Fairytale Wedding", and SouthWood definitely gave it that feel - a fairytale with southern charm. Jessica Worden was amazing to work with and put everyone at ease. I was unusually calm for a bride on her wedding day, but that was because I felt as though Jessica would take care of anything that came up, and she did! I would absolutely recommend SouthWood to other brides, and already have! Thank you, SouthWood, for giving us the wedding of our dreams!

When looking for our ceremony and reception location, Southwood was out of our budget but my now husband wanted to look anyways. We instantly fell in love and knew we had to make it work, it is the definition of a classic southern wedding location! But what really sold us, was Jessica. Many other locations were extremely strict about what you could do and all Jessica asked was you let her know before you did it. Jessica was also our day of coordinator and if you don't have a wedding planner, get a day of coordinator!!!!!! She blew our entire family away by how EXTREMELY helpful and absolutely AMAZING she is!!! She did everything we needed, wanted, and didn't even know we needed or wanted. She packed everything up for us and put the most important items in our cottage after the wedding, she put everything else inside the house so we could get it all out the day after, she dealt with all of the vendors and was my saving grace. It's impossible to express in words everything Jessica did for us on our wedding day, all I can say was she made our day the best day of our lives!

The Southwood House is the absolutely perfect place for any wedding. We booked this venue a year in advance and made all the necessary decisions quickly there after. The Southwood team was able to accommodate all our arrangements. Jessica is the top wedding planner in Tallahassee and I HIGHLY recommend utilizing her services. She and her team flawlessly put our wedding together; I didn't lift one finger on my wedding day and it turned out more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. I told Jessica I wanted the event to portray "elegance" and she went above and beyond to achieve this look. Jessica coordinated all the vendors so I was never bothered with any decision making.
The team and staff at Southwood are a pleasure to work with and bring a huge smile to your face. The chef came out after dinner was served and everyone in the room stood to applause his amazing meal. I thought it was such a cute idea to have the chef come out and wave to our guests.
Southwood goes above and beyond the call of a wedding venue to make your event over the top and easy. If you are debating between locations, choose Southwood, you will not be disappointed.

Wish I could give more than 5 stars! Beautiful venue, reasonable catering, and Jessica the event coordinator is friendly, helpful, responsive, and creative! I thought this was venue was well out of my price range, but they will work with you and the venue definitely is worth the cost. If you plan on the off season or on a non-conventional day they also offer discounts. Once I saw this venue I knew it was where I wanted to have my wedding, it is perfect! Edit: Post wedding and I am more than thrilled we chose the Southwood House for our big day! It was just perfect, the staff, the venue, everything.

Oh where do I even begin....the Southwood House is simply elegant and is exactly what I was looking for. I love how we were able to utilize the house in which most places it was just for looks! I was able to have both my ceremony and reception in one location and I was able to rent the cottages that were right behind for people with children and our grandparents which allowed them to spend more time with us that evening! The staff that assisted (chair relocation and bartenders) did an amazing job as well! They were quick and professional! Now for Jessica....I think she was the second most talked about person ... heck maybe even most...that evening. We hired her for the wedding coordination and she did so much more and was just purely amazing. She set up the day before and helped set up the day of and change things around to my OCD self. She was very organized and kept everything on track and on time the day of from start to finish. She was always say to get ahold of and fast to respond if she didn't answer right away! Jessica I hope you realize just how amazing and talented you are! :)

Jessica did a fantastic job helping to plan the wedding and reception at the Southwood House and Cottages. She was always quick to respond to emails and was so easy to work with. The House was perfect for photos, space in getting the bridal party ready and our cocktail hour. The bridal party was very pleased with the cottages we rented the night before the wedding. I would definitely recommend this venue.

This is my venue for my wedding in December. I have been emailing & working with their coordinator Jessica Worden for months & she is wonderful at communicating & she responds right away! Can't wait for my wedding!!

Our wedding was perfect! Southwood is a beautiful venue. Jessica was a great day of planner, extremely helpful. The entire Southwood team was great, including catering and bartenders!

Southwood was an absolutely beautiful venue with helpful, professional staff, who helped make my wedding a success. Jessica was wonderful and without her timing, the events would have gone off on a tangent.

The Southwood House and Cottages is the perfect venue for a Southern wedding. We had the best time working with Jessica and her team to coordinate our wedding day! Jessica was easy to work with and always available to answer our many, many questions. Her team performed the chair relocation between our ceremony and reception, and they moved seamlessly between the two events. Also, we used Southwood's bartenders for our cocktail hour and reception and they did a great job! They worked with us on our bar menu and provided a great variety for our guests. It was the perfect day and we are so grateful for all their hard work!

Our families also enjoyed staying at the Southwood cottages for the wedding weekend. They are charming, clean and well maintained. Each cottage has the sweetest front porch with rocking chairs, a perfect place to enjoy your morning cup of coffee. I would recommend the cottages to anyone staying in the area! Also, Jim and Jason with the St. Joe crew were easily available to help us with any questions during our stay.

We so enjoyed our time at Southwood and look forward to our next excuse to visit!

Working with Jessica was such a relief! She was the quiet steady calm during the big event that was not a storm! She was on point for every need and request. I highly recommend her for any event!

The SouthWood House was a beautiful venue! Jessica was extremely helpful to work with! She made everything run very smoothly and was so flexible. I would highly recommend this location and Jessica's services as an event planner.

We had the perfect wedding at the SouthWood House. The outdoor ceremony was beautiful and serene, the arbor being surrounded by old oak trees. The reception inside was very intimate, it's like having dinner together with our family and friends in our own house. The food and service was really good. Jessica, the event organizer, was very accommodating with all our needs.

Zach and I fell in love with the SouthWood House immediately when we saw it.The pictures do not do it justice. The huge oak trees and beautiful house is breathtaking. Ever since then our journey to our special day was fantastic. Jessica was so much help and always available when we had questions or needed help. She seriously made the process so smooth for us. The day of she made sure everything was taken care of, there was not a worry in the world! Also the crew the day before/day of/day after at southwood were fantastic, friendly, and so much help. I could have not asked for a better venue and experience. If you're getting married soon this is the place to be! SERIOUSLY! Best place/experience for my wedding.

We utilized Southwood for three different functions related to our wedding. The first was a family and friend golf outing on the day before. Jason and Matt accommodated our request for 6 morning tee times and ensured everything was ready upon our arrival. Everyone had great fun with golf and lunch in the clubhouse after. We utilized the Southwood Golf Club for our rehearsal dinner and working with Jessica was wonderful. She was patient, incredibly flexible and understanding. There were great menu choices and the food prepared was wonderful! Our wedding was at the Southwood House, an absolutely beautiful place! We had access to and utilized the house all day and evening and watched the grounds transform with all of our vendors setting up. Our dream became a reality. We also utilized the cottages which were so cute and met our every need, including the extras we requested from Jessica. Thank you Jessica, Jason, Matt and ALL the Southwood staff for exceeding every expectation that we had and helping make our wedding weekend full of wonderful memories!

Jessica was great the most helpful person. she helped to make our event perfect.

My husband and I fell in Southwood as soon as we visited it. The pictures really do it no justice! The front lawn made the most picturesque ceremony. The bridal party and I walked out of the house and we said our 'I Dos' in front of the live oaks. The reception was at night under the twinkling lights in the back lawn. Everything was perfect. Our guests could not stop raving about how beautiful it was. We hired an on-site coordinator and she made everything so easy. She took care of the vendors and made sure everything looked exactly how I wanted it since I could not help set up. I felt so at ease during the entire process. I would HIGHLY recommend Southwood to anyone who is looking for their Fairy Tale wedding site!