BLUFFTON — Bethany Boles Hewitt’s Spanish moss-draped wedding venue has helped couples tie the knot since 2018. Families holding their special day at Hewitt Oaks might need to pay at least $61,000, before taxes. In exchange, the venue offers the “beauty and grandeur of the Lowcountry in an elegant setting,” a planner, a cake, florals and more, initiating a marriage to last a lifetime.
But Hewitt may face a sentence herself, albeit much more abbreviated. The S.C. Department of Revenue charged her with operating her business without a valid license. According to an affidavit, her business license was revoked in February for not paying $148,467.15 in taxes. As of Sept. 22, her delinquent amount snowballed to $174,978.92. She faces up to 30 days in prison, a $200 fine, or both.
“We are fully operational and thankful for the state’s willingness to work with us so that none of our events were affected,” Hewitt wrote in an email. “Unfortunately due to a processing time delay for an agreed upon payment with SCDOR, the license was revoked but was quickly reinstated.” An agency spokesperson said the business’ retail license was restored Oct. 1, but had no other comment.
A Charleston couple wed at Hewitt Oaks almost a year ago. Hewitt herself had given the pair a tour of the venue. Summer Aker said they chose Hewitt Oaks because of its all-inclusive offering, its beauty and proximity to her parents. They put down a deposit the day they visited.
The wedding planning was going well. Their planner had met with the couple to taste food. But as the big day approached, Summer hadn’t heard from their planner. Questions went unanswered. The bride-to-be said she called, but couldn’t get through. Summer’s Lowcountry October wedding began to take on a New England frost.
Once her wedding day arrived, the decorations were wrong, there was no vodka at the bar and the cake was two layers, with crudely lathered frosting.
“Our wedding cake was so terribly done, it looked like an eighth grader had made it,” she said. Now it’s a funny memory: “Remember how ugly our wedding cake was?”
Hewitt Oaks grew out of her catering and event planning business, Southern Graces. According to the website, the business began in 2002 when Hewitt agreed to help a friend throw a “small Halloween bash.”
Hewitt said it pained her when events fail because participating vendors don’t deliver. To ensure that her clients’ wishes were met, she founded Southern Graces, a full-service planning and design company.
Hewitt and her husband sought to find a property to make their own. Their website said they were looking for a “dream venue that would reflect their signature, timeless aesthetic and high-touch approach to hospitality.”
Hewitt in 2018 purchased the property for her event planning venue for $1.5 million. She paid off the loan she used to buy the land in 2024, by taking on a $3.8 million loan through her business.
Google reviews of Hewitt Oaks are generally positive, earning 4.3 stars, though it has received a smattering of one-star reviews in the past few months.
Hewitt’s case is pending in Beaufort County Magistrate court, where she is scheduled to appear Oct. 23.
For Summer Aker, Hewitt’s arrest has prompted schadenfreude.
“It definitely put a smile on our faces to see that she was getting what was coming to her.”