Oakes curled in a delightful 30-yard effort on 36 minutes to give his side the spoils in a dour match.
Oakes was by far the best player on the park and his strike to beat Scott Davies from distance after a harsh foul was given against Danny Adams will be one that the Wycombe fans will remember for a long time.
Morecambe never really looked like finding a way back into the game and they were left rueing a missed opportunity in the first minute of the match when Michael Twiss set up Matty Blinkhorn with a delightful lay-off but the striker dragged his effort wide of the left-hand post from the edge of the area.
Wycombe always had the lion's share of the possession but failed to threaten themselves until the 20th minute when an Oakes free-kick into the danger-area was headed against the foot of the post by the on-loan Chris Herd who did well to nip in front of his markers to get in the effort.
After Oakes' opener the Shrimps looked to step up the pace with Carl Baker coming on for Neil Sorvel but he found it difficult to get involved against a solid Wycombe back-line.
Morecambe's only chances were from distance with Garry Thompson twice shooting well wide and Baker himself latching on to a loose ball in the box but directing an effort straight at Frank Fielding.
Morecambe skipper Jim Bentley then had a half-chance from a neat Thompson knock-down but his volley failed to trouble the Wycombe keeper.
In the end it was the visitors that looked the more likely to score again. Substitute John Sutton worked himself a good opening on the right before producing a shot which Davies saved well to his right before strike partner Leon Knight fired over after a neat turn on the edge of the box.
Morecambe threw bodies forward in the final stages but, despite some muted penalty claims when Bentley was floored in the penalty area, it was a piece of magic from Oakes that clinched victory for Paul Lambert's side.