The Art of Scale: Intrigue Across America

Education

Sep 24

Monica had the absolute pleasure of joining the Intrigue Across America Tour at Crystal Plaza in Livingston, New Jersey. Led by Sarah Campbell of Intrigue Designs. The immersive experience brought floral professionals together to study the creative, structural, and business decisions behind producing luxury events on a much larger scale.

Who Is Sarah Campbell?

Sarah began her career in event planning before recognizing a need for elevated floral design within the Maryland and Washington, D.C. market. She went on to build Intrigue Designs, becoming known for abundant wedding florals, oversized installations and a joyful approach to the industry. Her work later brought her to Netflix as a competitor on The Big Flower Fight, where floral designers transformed natural materials into monumental works of art.

Through Intrigue Teaches, Sarah now shares that experience with florists around the world—opening up the mechanics, planning and business strategy behind designs that many people only ever see after they have been completed.

This large-scale floral design begins long before the first bloom is placed. It requires an understanding of proportion, mechanics, flower quantities, labor, timing,and how guests will move through the finished environment. The first day of the tour focused on the business behind luxury floral work. Visibility, connecting with high-end clients, and learning from the decisions that shape a growing creative business. On the second day, the room shifted from conversation to construction as Monica and the other participating designers began building two expansive floral installations throughout Crystal Plaza.

Lets Take A Look! ↓

This hands-on process allowed Monica to work directly with the materials, structural mechanics, and collaborative production required to take an ambitious design from concept to completion.

One of the most VALUABLE parts of the experience was seeing just how many skilled hands contribute to a large-scale event.

Behind every installation is a team processing flowers, preparing mechanics, carrying structures, working from ladders, adjusting individual stems and continually stepping back to study the room.

This is where large-scale design becomes especially powerful. Florals can do more than mark the place where a couple exchanges vows—they can alter the atmosphere of the venue and create a moment guests feel before the ceremony has even begun.

Crystal Plaza’s stone gazebo transformed into an immersive floral structure. Layers of blush, coral, peach and soft pink blooms traveled across the roofline, wrapped around the columns and cascaded toward the ground.

Its existing architecture provided the foundation, while the flowers softened its stone surfaces and changed how the entire ceremony setting felt.

Every person must understand the larger vision. Each section needs to connect seamlessly to the next, even when multiple designers are working simultaneously. That level of collaboration is not simply about getting the work done—it is what allows an installation to feel cohesive rather than assembled.

For Monica, the experience reinforced something we believe deeply: exceptional events are never created by flowers alone. They are created through planning, trust, communication and a team capable of carrying one vision through every detail.

Inside the ballroom, the design responded to an entirely different environment. Crystal chandeliers, gilded details and soaring ceilings called for florals with enough height, color and presence to feel intentional within the grandeur of the space.

Instead of placing centerpieces into a completed room, the team treated the room itself as part of the composition. Every decision—from the height of the florals to the movement above the tables—helped guide the eye and shape the way the reception unfolded.

Towering centerpieces in saturated shades of coral, pink and orange drew the eye upward, while suspended tulips created the illusion of flowers raining gently over the tables. Floral runners, layered linens and smaller tabletop details carried the color downward, connecting the height of the arrangements with the guest experience at each place setting.

Creative Partners

Photography by @alainarenephoto @annapaulinephotography @greenpastures.photo @hannahclairephotos @meghanmoorephotography @nicolekiernanphotography @photosbysiobahn @rachelsnyderphotography_ @veilofgracephotography