Member Retreat

A Retreat in Every Sense

While we have a high-impact agenda, this is a retreat first and foremost. We are creating a safe, welcoming, and inclusive environment where you can feel truly heard. It’s a space to share your stories, gain fresh perspectives from peers who “get it,” and connect deeply with like-minded professionals in a supportive, non-judgmental atmosphere. You will leave feeling recharged, focused, and seen.

Practical Information

Dates: Wednesday 4th – Thursday 5th February 2026

Location: Sheepdrove Organic Farm, RG17 7UU (please follow our specific Travel Guide for Sat Nav instructions )

What to Pack: Comfortable indoor wear and sturdy outdoor gear (wellies and warm layers) for our nature-based sessions.

Tickets: Flexible options available, including single-day passes or the full experience with accommodation.

Ready to level up? Book Your Spot Here

Breakfast Networking: Everyone is welcome to join us for an early start

This is the perfect opportunity to connect with old friends and meet new ones over a nourishing, locally-sourced breakfast before the day’s sessions begin.

Starting your day here allows you to ease into the retreat environment, share your goals for the event, and find your “tribe” in a relaxed setting before we dive into the intensive workshops.

Welcome  

Michelle and Emma officially kick off the retreat in the Beech Room.

The Conscious Customer Journey: A Practical Approach to Sustainable Marketing

Led by Pamela Rae Welsh

A hands-on 2 part workshop exploring how buying behaviour is shifting and how sustainable wedding businesses can respond with clarity and confidence.

We will cover:
• What Gen Z and Millennial couples prioritise when choosing suppliers
• How to bring sustainable values into marketing in a way that is clear and credible.
• A customer journey framework that attendees can map to their own business. I’ll bring materials for this (or will it be paperless?)

After break:
• The essential marketing touchpoints every sustainable brand needs and why they matter.
• A straightforward planning section so attendees leave knowing what to prioritise in the next days, next weeks and the rest of the year.

What to bring…

• A short business snapshot: core offer, average booking value and main enquiry channels
• A profile of your ideal couple to keep in mind during the session
• A light review of recent enquiries and bookings (last 6 to 12 months): where they came from, what converted, and any recurring questions or objections
• Access to your digital platforms for practical analysis and planning

Lunch: Nourishment & Nature

Enjoy a warming seasonal meal featuring local produce in the Dining Room.

Put on Your Wellies: Following lunch, we head outside with Rosie Kindersley from Sheepdrove for a guided walk through the farm’s key habitats. This is your chance to put your “Biodiversity Literacy” into practice. Keep an eye out for the specific species and ecosystems you’ve learnt about in your digital course as we explore the land. Observation during this walk will serve as the perfect foundation for our next session.

Biodiversity Literacy Reflection

Join Evangeline Berryman-Bevans for a session that bridges the gap between digital learning, our habitat walk, and physical business action.

This is a pilot of an excerpt of the soon to be trademarked and CPD‑accredited Biodiversity Literacy Ambassadors course, by the Field Studies Council. Learners will reflect on practical ways to recognise, manage and enhance biodiversity across woodlands, grasslands, wetlands and urban spaces. Through short discussions, participants will explore what good habitat quality looks like, why these habitats matter, and simple, effective approaches to support nature recovery.

Please ensure you have completed the online Biodiversity Literacy training before the session.

Stop Being a Best-Kept Secret: Build Your Impact Report

Led by Russ Avery

This is a hands-on, roll-up-your-sleeves session where we won’t just talk about what makes a great Impact Report, we’ll actually start planning and writing it!

You’ll leave with a clear structure, practical tools and frameworks, and a plan for turning your sustainability journey into a compelling story that resonates with conscious couples and clients. And maybe you’ll even leave with the outline and draft copy for a chapter or two.

What to bring…

Bring any existing sustainability data, milestones, initiatives or achievements (even if patchy). Photos, logos, and any previous reporting or member comms you want to reference will also be useful. The more data and proof points related to your impact, the better. You bring the raw data, I’ll help you bring it to life.

Accreditation Acceleration

Hosted by Michelle Miles

This is a dedicated “get it done” session to get your SWA evidence submission-ready.

A flexible, facilitated space to work on your accreditation, collaborate with peers, or get a final pair of eyes on your accreditation documents.

Florist Discussion: A focused session for our floral community

Free Time: It’s time to relax, reconnect and get ready for the evening

Drinks Reception, Tasting and Dinner

Explore local flavours with Woodfine Wine, followed by a relaxed evening of community and conversation over a two course meal.

Breakfast Networking: Everyone is welcome to join us for an early start

This is the perfect opportunity to connect with old friends and meet new ones over a nourishing, locally-sourced breakfast before the day’s sessions begin.

Starting your day here allows you to ease into the retreat environment, share your goals for the event, and find your “tribe” in a relaxed setting before we dive into the intensive workshops.

The Industry Roundtable: Designing Our Future

We begin the second day by tackling the big questions. This Industry Roundtable is a dedicated space for our accredited members to move beyond individual business goals and address the systemic challenges within their specific sectors.

We will dive deep into the hurdles currently slowing down progress, from supply chain gaps to consumer education, and move into a collaborative “Future-Proofing” brainstorm. Whether we are reimagining the British flower supply or solving venue-specific logistics, this is your chance to share suggestions and help shape the SWA’s collective advocacy and roadmap for 2026.

B Corp Bootcamp: Mastering the Next Step Standards

Led by Fleur Record Smith

We’ll start with an overview of the new B Corp standards and exactly what they mean for wedding businesses today.

This is a live working session; we will help you start your Business Impact Assessment (BIA) on the B Corp platform so you leave the retreat with your submission already underway.

Following this session, we will be officially launching the in-person live B Corp Bootcamp led by Fleur.

What to bring…

You need to have been trading for at least 12 months to start the certification process.

Documents to bring with you:

•  Your company’s Articles of Association
• Date the company was incorporated
• Information on your legal structure if applicable (i.e. if your company is owned by a holding company or is a subsidiary / part of a group), is it a limited company etc. If you are part of a group or a subsidiary, please let me know prior to the Retreat so that we can gather the correct information for the bootcamp.
• Your revenue (turnover) and profit for the last two fiscal years
• Number of employees:
  It is important to get this right, and there are a number of distinctions between the different categories of employees so we will take the time to work out what category your workers fit in to.
• Please bring with you the number of employees on the payroll at a given date in the past 6 months (I would recommend picking a recent date, maybe 31.12.25). For each employee, make a note of the following:
  – Have they worked for you for 6 months or less?
  – How many hours per week do they work for you?
  – Do you employ and independent contractors (i.e. freelancers)? If so, how long have they worked for you and for how many hours per week?
  – Do you employ any temporary staff, i.e. between 2-5 months?

Open Working & Strategy Implementation

Hosted by Michelle Miles

A flexible, facilitated space to work on your own projects, collaborate with peers, or get a final pair of eyes on your documents.

Lunch: Nourishment & Nature

Enjoy a warming seasonal meal featuring local produce in the Dining Room.

It’s time to put on your wellies back on! Following lunch, we head outside again, but this we’ll be jumping on the Sheepdrove Tractor & Trailer, to head up to the far side of the farm and explore the farm’s diverse habitats.

Reclaiming Your Resilience: A transformational nature-based coaching session

Led by Jo Hacking

This session moves beyond biodiversity theory into a “felt” experience. You’ll explore how nature’s principles, resilience, cycles, and growth, can inform your leadership and business strategy.

This is about active engagement. You’ll work physically with the land, grounding your morning’s brainstorming in tangible, nature-based practices. Using the natural world as a mirror for your business challenges, this safe, open-air session provides a sense of clarity and calm. You’ll leave with a renewed commitment to the planet and a clear head for the year ahead.

Next Steps, No Regrets: Actionable Takeaways

As the retreat draws to a close, we gather one last time to translate our inspiration into action. Dive deeper into the actionable gems we’ve unearthed throughout the two days and translate your newfound knowledge into concrete plans for your business or personal practices. Leave this session not with regrets, but with a roadmap to pave the way for a truly sustainable future for the industry, ready to celebrate the changemakers at this evening’s awards ceremony.