August 12, 2020

Lovingly Meets Netflix’s The Big Flower Fight Contestants Sarah & Jordan

August 12, 2020

Lovingly Meets Netflix’s The Big Flower Fight Contestants Sarah & Jordan of Intrigue Designs

Netflix’s new reality television series The Big Flower Fight is equal-part floral design and equal-part artistic brilliance. Imagine the ‘Great British Bake Off’ but swap out the cake and replace it with stunning flowers, plants, grasses, and everything in between.

Oh, and don’t forget, we’re talking massive floral installations, here.

So settle in, grab a snack, and hold tight because the electric vibrancy of these blooms will keep you coming back for more every time. If you’re looking for your next Netflix binge, look no further.

photo courtesy of Clear Sky Images

While the vibrancy of these blooms is undeniable, they ultimately pale in comparison to the big personalities that contestants’ Sarah Campbell and Jordan Marx bring to the table.

Our very own Joe Vega, Co-Founder of Lovingly, had the incredible opportunity of sitting down with these two inspiring wedding florists, Sarah and Jordan of Intrigue Designs located in Annapolis, Maryland.

Check out our full interview with Sarah and Jordan!

The Journey

photo courtesy of Clear Sky Images

Sarah Campbell began her journey to floral artistry as a wedding planner.

Pursuing her deep love for parties and celebrations, she started her very own wedding-planning firm. As it happens, the florist of one of her brides ended up quitting at the very last minute. If you know anything about weddings (and brides, of course) you know this is NOT what you want to see happening right before the big day.

Campbell, heroically stepping up to the plate, quickly had to figure out how to take this chaotic, abandoned bundle of wedding flowers the florist abruptly left behind.

"Once I got my hands on this, I knew I loved the design part of weddings, but I didn’t realize that I could be more hands-on on the floral part."

And thus, Campbell’s true passion took flight.

She combined her planning-firm with her newly formed floral-firm for the first couple of years of her florist career.

“And then I realized that I wanted to focus solely on flowers because that’s what excites me. You know, in life, we look for that thing, right? That thing that just empowers us, inspires us, and flowers are my thing.”

As soon as she began to focus solely on flowers, her business blossomed beautifully.

She chased what energized her, and as you can see, it totally stuck.

photo courtesy of Clear Sky Images

Jordan Marx began her journey in quite a different, but nevertheless exhilarating way.

After graduating college and backpacking across the globe, with her visa on the brink of expiring, Jordan returned to the United States.

Having never had a real “big girl job” as many recent college grads can surely relate to (the struggle is real), she came across Campbell’s whimsical, but very genuine, job posting.

For Campbell, the search was on for someone who “can drop everything and go at a moment’s notice, doesn’t mind working with a smelly dog, and doesn’t mind working in a place that’s not an office.”

“I was like, I check all those boxes!”, Marx confidently declared.

And there you have if folks! The flower sculpting dream team was formed!

The Big Screen (Depending on the Size of Your TV...)

photo courtesy of Clear Sky Images

Although a bit of hesitancy ensued when the term ”reality show” was dropped by casting directors, Campbell and Marx immediately realized it was a good fit that seemed “very positive and exciting and different.”

While Sarah Campbell is very much so the floral mastermind, Jordan Marx is undoubtedly the behind-the-scenes expert.

“I went into this with zero hands-on floral experience whatsoever. I am a behind the scenes girl, I do marketing, I do management, I do event production. Never ever the floral design,” says Marx.

Both Campbell and Marx had just so happened to have taken the next 2 months off, and being the busy bees that they are, many of the other florists Campbell had hoped to ask to accompany her on the show were completely booked.

"Well, maybe I could be the solution to all of the problems. I'm already with you. I'm not busy because I work with you. And we work great together!"

And you know the rest!

As the show went on, the pair came to the conclusion that, “None of us were in familiar territory.”

If you’ve seen the show, you can unquestionably imagine the challenges associated with the enormity of these living structures.

The duo quickly realized that they were so not in Maryland anymore.

Words of Wisdom

photo courtesy of Clear Sky Images

Amongst the unique challenges and difficulties, lifelong friendships were also formed.

“It was just like hanging out with your friends, it was lovely.”

According to Campbell and Marx, the show was filmed in a way that felt very small and intimate, with time well spent together, both on set and off.

"When you brought all of these people that had different backgrounds but had a connection with flowers and plants like we spoke the same language. That’s what we do as flower and plant people."
Sarah Campbell

If you’re a fan of The Big Flower Fight, you can see this sentiment of comradery and kinship between the contestants clear as day.