Oakleaf Cottage Hosts Intimate, Elegant Celebrations Paired With Sustainability

By LYDIA BERGLAR
News Editor

Tucked away on the western slope of Lookout Mountain, beneath Cloudland Canyon State Park, Oakleaf Cottage welcomes couples from around the United States to celebrate their weddings with small groups of family and friends. The rocky forest setting, the elegant yet cozy cottage, and the reception barn are enough to make the venue appealing, but it’s the commitment to sustainability that enhances the Oakleaf story.

Oakleaf Cottage is green certified by green|spaces in Chattanooga, but it took a lot of hard work and problem solving to get to that point.

Cris and Dave Angsten bought the property in 2016 as an investment, not yet envisioning it as a wedding venue. Cris recalled first walking through the property and seeing the view of the forest from behind the barn. “We stepped back here, and that was it—we’ll buy it.”

When wedding photographer friend Hillary Moore saw the property, she suggested turning it into a venue, so in addition to renting the cottage on Airbnb, the Angstens started booking weddings six months in advance with a limit of 40 guests so they could test it out to decide if this was the path for them.

It wasn’t long before they fell in love with running a small wedding venue, but they soon noticed a problem: Weddings produce a lot of waste. After one wedding that only had 60 guests, the Angstens hauled off two pick-up truck loads of trash.

When the cottage was rented as an Airbnb, the Angstens practiced sorting waste into recyclables and whatever couldn’t be reused, composted, or recycled. The Airbnb had three recycling sorting containers in the kitchen, but not every guest made use of the containers, so the Angstens got used to sorting through trash.

The two truckloads from that particular 60-person wedding were things that couldn’t be donated, recycled, or composted. Cris recalled, “Neither of us slept that night, thinking, ‘What did we get into?’ Neither of us want to be taking trash from one place and moving it to another place that used to be pretty.”

They set the goal of cutting waste down to just one contractor-size trash bag per wedding. For comparison, “The Guardian” reported in May 2024 that the average wedding produces 400 pounds of trash.

Food was a major contributor to waste, so the Angstens tackled that first. They scraped plates and collected food waste to take to a farm that fed the scraps to chickens. However, while chickens will eat everything given to them, it’s not all good for them, so the farm couldn’t continue accepting food scraps.

Concerned about attracting rodents and animals to the venue, the Angstens didn’t want to start a compost pile on the property, but thankfully, NewTerra Compost opened just at the right time, and Oakleaf Cottage has been a NewTerra customer since then. The compost company turns the scraps into garden soil that the Angstens put to use in their native landscaping.

Cardboard that only has black ink on it (nothing shiny or coated) also contributes to the landscaping. Cris uses it as a weed barrier, and the cardboard decomposes on site.

Dishes were another major contributor to trash, because most weddings use single-use plastic plates. Cris said, “It wasn’t until we were flipping them over that we realized there’s no recycling number on the bottom. Even if the packaging on the outside kindly says, ‘Please recycle,’ there’s nothing recyclable about those plates. You’d still have to wash them all off before recycling anyway, so we started collecting china.”

They started with mismatched china that added to the charming boho style of the venue until they had entire collections built up. Now, “Our couples have a good time picking out what they want, and china elevates your event. It’s a wedding, so the table setting should be special.”

Plastics are always a thorn in the side of all who want to reduce waste because only number one and number two plastics can be recycled. When serving food at events, plastic wrap and plastic bags are ubiquitous, and these can’t be recycled. Also, even the materials that can be recycled don’t always make it through the entire process and into a new product.

Wedding parties can make use of the sorting bins in the cottage, but the Angstens still must sort through afterward. The final remaining bag of trash per wedding is mostly full of non-recyclable plastics. They also have a list of approved caterers who know how the venue operates and are able to work with Oakleaf’s mission.

As for glass, the Dade County Transfer Station still accepted glass when Oakleaf Cottage started. When that ended, the Angstens turned to the recycling center in Lookout Valley. However, Tennessee stopped accepting out-of-state drop offs, so the Angstens held onto all of the glass from an entire wedding season while they searched for another option.

They looked into purchasing a glass crusher that breaks glass down into sand or larger pebbles which are reused in a variety of ways. The Angstens learned about two Georgia counties that purchased glass crushers, giving the counties a way to recycle glass in house. Cris reported that these counties use the sand for road work, and local artists incorporate the pebbles into landscaping. The glass crushers reduced the counties’ waste expenses.

However, Overlooked Materials opened in Chattanooga in May 2024, giving the Angstens an easier answer to the glass problem. Overlooked Materials operates similarly to NewTerra’s subscription-based services.

Of all these problem-solving adventures, Cris said, “If something happens, we’ll figure it out. That’s one thing we’ve become confident about along the way.” If Dade’s recycling program changes or some other process shifts, the Angstens are committed to finding another option.

In 2019, the Angstens began pursuing a certification from green|spaces in Chattanooga. Cris said, “I thought it would be good to have third party who looks at what you’re doing and says, ‘Yes, you are being environmentally friendly.’”

Oakleaf Cottage already used only LED lights and low-flow toilets, but green|spaces suggested switching to low-flow shower heads as well. With all of the venue’s other practices already in place, Oakleaf quickly earned the certification.

Along with finding a great rhythm as a sustainable venue, the Angstens also learned how to create stress-free weddings for brides, families, and wedding parties. The first few years involved a lot of improvements and figuring out how to keep weddings running smoothly, from picking up the slack left by terrible caterers to smoothly handling various types of weather.

Cris said, “After a few years, you get more comfortable. We know how to fix problems that come up and deal with them so that no one knows there was ever a problem.”

One way she helps pull off stress free weddings is by working with couples when selecting vendors. “Every vendor changes how the event feels and flows. You want to make sure the personality of your photographer blends well with you. If they’re extremely outgoing and bubbly but you’re very reserved, sometimes that won’t work well. Your DJ completely changes how it feels. If you want lively, we know lively ones. We pay attention to all of those details.”

Most of Oakleaf’s wedding packages include a planner, but some just include a month-of coordinator. Cris said, “The whole event runs so much smoother because our couples know that the planner has their back and knows exactly what they’re looking for. The couple and the family can just enjoy the day because everything’s handled.”

Tables and chairs are included at Oakleaf, along with decor and set up. Cris and her team set the tables beautifully and uniquely for each wedding. She explained, “Early on, I saw how stressed out families or the bridesmaids would be when they were setting the tables.”

Cris collected glassware and candle votives in a rainbow of colors. It took years for her to find all of the pieces to complete each set, and now brides have a great time picking out the glassware to match their wedding colors.

She also collected a variety of rugs that serve as the aisle runners and can be mixed and matched to fit each wedding’s theme. Oakleaf works with The White Table in Chattanooga to rent linens in all kinds of colors. “Linens change everything,” said Cris. “As soon as you have a good linen on the table or as your napkin, the entire event changes.”

The Angstens themselves got married in Cris’ parents’ backyard, which was a lot of work and stress to pull together. Their vision is that couples who get married at Oakleaf will feel like they’re getting married at a friend’s property, but with everything taken care of under the watchful eye of the Angstens.

The property offers two outdoor ceremony spots to choose from (Forest View and Mountainside), the cottage for bridal parties to use, woodsy photo shoot locations, and the barn for indoor receptions.

Oakleaf generally stays booked up about 18 months out, and the vast majority of weddings are destination weddings. Many couples come from nearby cities, like Atlanta and Nashville, but the Angstens have also welcomed couples from states out west, like California and Colorado.

The largest group the venue can accommodate is 115 people, so the weddings naturally have an intimate, cozy feel. Oakleaf Cottage is also available for non-wedding events.

If you’re interested in wedding tips about decor, planning, sustainability, and more, check out Oakleaf Cottage’s blog at oakleafcottage.com. While you’re there, be sure to check out some of the stunning photos.