When Peyton Scott was a kid, she would plan her own birthday parties. One year, she decided on a Harry Potter theme — complete with her own Diagon Alley.

That love of event planning and attention to detail is now the focus of Scott’s career at Indiana University Bloomington, where she works as an IU Catering advertising and sales assistant with a focus on weddings. Scott guides couples who want to get married at the Indiana Memorial Union from the initial planning stages through the conclusion of their receptions.

“It’s more paperwork than I imagined,” Scott joked.

There are a lot of decisions for couples to make — which venue in the IMU they want to reserve, what hors d’oeuvres to serve, how to incorporate their personalities into their receptions. Scott helps them understand all the options and navigates the behind-the-scenes logistics, including accommodating dietary restrictions, complying with Indiana’s complicated liquor laws and creating diagrams and layouts for receptions.

On the day of a wedding, she’s at the venue from setup to tear down.

“I love the day of each wedding,” she said. “It’s exhausting but exhilarating. I think my favorite part is seeing the happiness on the couple’s faces – it makes the blood, sweat and tears worth it.”

While she’s been in her role for less than a year, Scott said she’s already noticed several trends from 2022 weddings. Exposed cakes, dessert bars and sparkler send-offs are popular, along with a more personal touch.

“We’ve seen a lot more weddings with signature drinks that are named after pets,” she said. “One couple even had custom stirring sticks of their pets.”

Scott takes a lot of pride in helping couples bring those meaningful details to life. One recent bride made an unusual request for papers to be placed on every guest’s chair at the reception, providing few details ahead of time. As Scott worked to make the request happen the day of the event, she realized the papers were an academic brief on the couple’s relationship.

While her job requires her to wear many different hats, Scott said her most important task is simple.

“I like to see myself as an advocate for the bride, even if there are other family members who may have differing opinions,” she said.

Booking weddings at the IMU

Scott is not able to book weddings further out than one year ahead of the desired wedding date. Those interested in having their wedding at the IMU should email IU Catering at iucater@iu.edu and send their potential dates, number of guests and rooms they are interested in with the wedding date in the subject line.

Barbara Brosher is a communications consultant in the Office of the Vice President for Communications and Marketing.