A Floral Designers Dream: Why Sarah Campbell Chose Markree Castle in Ireland for her first European Floral Retreat
These incredible images were taken by Theo from - https://www.instagram.com/illuminateby.theomilo/
The buzz around the Intrigue Across Ireland floral retreat was real, and the question everyone kept asking in the run-up to the event, which, by the way, sold out in a phenomenal 21 minutes was: "What can Sarah Campbell teach us that we don't already know?"
The answer is simple, This wasn't just a workshop, this was an immersive, luxury experience designed to shift the way florists view their own business and their industry as an art. Invited by Janette O'Rourke & Deirdre Sullivan of Kays Flower School, this was the inaugural International Flower Retreat leading on from Sarah Campbell's famous Intrigue Across America workshops, and it was designed meticulously with the dreams and goals of every florist and photographer at its core.
So Why Ireland? Well Why Not??
Sarah Campbell, famous for her success on Netflix’s The Biggest Flower Fight and her Intrigue Design Flower Community, chose Ireland and the magnificent Markree Castle to showcase our fantastic country as a premier destination wedding location and an invitaton from Janette & Deirdre.
Sarah’s goal was twofold.
For the Photographers
There were six attending photographers, photographers always need imagery that is not only stunning but immediately publishable. Sarah wanted her photographer attendees to leave with images ready for American editorials and features that showed Ireland at its absolute best, a backdrop of historical opulence and drama, natural beauty that translates into unforgettable magical luxury wedding photography.
For the Florists
Sarah's guiding principle is, "If you don't experience luxury, how can you sell it?" For three days, 24 florists lived like royalty, designing with over 10,000 stems of flowers. They created breathtaking installations and tablescapes for their own gala dinner, surrounded by the incredible style & details. The table dressings provided by Ursula and Michelle of The Parlour Event Hire was chosen to the finest detail and has attendees gasping when they came across the vintage pieces on their table. This floral retreat wasn't about watching, it was about doing, learning, collaborating and living the luxury event life so they can confidently sell it to their own clients.
It wasn’t all about the designs either: Systems and strategy for profit were always at the core.
The learning was nonstop, starting from the moment everyone landed at the Harding Hotel in Dublin. As floral educators for 38 years, both Janette and Deirdre admitted they picked up valuable new knowledge, proving that there is always more to learn in this industry.
Sarah Campbell is a force of nature with a relentless drive to ensure florists look critically at their designs, profits, and recipes. She emphasizes that when creating large luxury events, having solid systems, procedures, and accurate pricing is essential. Sarah firmly believes that if you aren't using the right software program, you are simply leaving money on the table.
To the floral designers, she teaches the importance of hiring people to implement your creative vision. Florists should be overseeing the designs being hung and installed, not physically up the ladder installing them themselves. This focus on business strategy elevates a florist from a simple flower arranger to a highend creative director.
Design and Sustainability at The Core of Every Business
The retreat was a huge success in product testing. During the massive installs, the team got ot experience and use the brand new renewal foam bricks from Oasis Floral Products. For most attendees, this was their first time working with it, and it performed beautifully, proving easy to use while holding moisture & stems perfectly across all the large-scale structures.
The immediate effects of this event are already in. Since returning to Dublin from the castle, we here at Kays Flower School have received messages from couples from the United States who are planning to marry in Ireland specifically because of the incredible social media coverage from the event. They are looking for recommendations for luxury florists and luxury experiences. We are tagging all the creative partners below for those interested.
Here at Kays Flower School, we live by the motto that you can't sell luxury if you don't show luxury to your followers. Every single attendee now has professional photos of themselves working on these breathtaking, show-stopping structures, allowing them to showcase their ability to transform any location into a floral dream bomb.
If you are coming to Ireland to get married, please get in touch. We will happily connect you with the best luxury florists in the industry, all of whom have the knowledge, the experience, and the photos to prove they can make your wedding vision a reality.
Photographers and Creative Partners Tagged Below
Skyler Jordan took these images below of the Attendees Working and creating the designs - you will find Skyler on Instagram at - https://www.instagram.com/skylerjordanphotography/ or her website is Skyler Jordan Photography | Luxury DC Wedding Photographer
Photos below from the Floral Retreat are from Emma Mullins Photography - you will find Emma here on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/emullinsphotogram/
Photos Below are from Amairani Thomason Photography - https://www.instagram.com/amairanithomasonphoto/
At an Irish Floral Retreat sure it would not be Irish if there was no Guinness and No Craic - these are just some of the social photos from the even, We have made friends for life , just like all the other Intrigue events we have been part of, but I do think we are bias in saying this was one of the best ever, Keep an eye for part two of this blog and more behind the scenes photos
