Meghan Fay (HHS’06) has a knack for being in the right place at the right time. What else could explain a career that began with a degree in behavioral neuroscience and has included continent-hopping work in law, wedding planning, and luxury fragrance design? Her personal credo underscores the varied avenues she’s taken: “I have a strong belief that things will work out the way they are meant to,” she says.
After graduating from Purdue with plans to attend law school in New York City the following year, Fay made a bold move; she took advantage of an international work-visa opportunity for recent graduates and spent 12 months gaining legal experience in the United Kingdom — first in London and then Dublin. She had studied abroad at Oxford University prior to her senior year and found she missed living and traveling overseas. “It was very much an adventure,” Fay says. “There were a lot of challenges, but I really think I became a better person because I learned so much.”
“I have a strong belief that things will work out the way they are meant to.”
—Meghan Fay
Adding to the adventure was a budding romance — Fay met her future husband, Steven, during her stint in the UK. Intending to become a trial attorney, she returned to the United States to pursue her law degree, and the couple spent almost three years in a long-distance relationship. Fay moved back to London after graduating from law school, but finding legal work proved to be more challenging than she expected. “I made a decision that I wanted to do something completely different,” she says. “I had always been interested in events, and it seemed like the perfect time to explore a new opportunity.” Knowing that she was unlikely to be hired by an event planner due to her inexperience, Fay took the helm of a brand-new company: her own. “Deciding to start my own business gave me purpose,” she says. “It made me conquer so many fears and helped me build relationships in a relatively unfamiliar city.”
Fay launched her wedding-planning firm, Extraordinary Days, in 2013, and found her niche with American brides arranging transatlantic celebrations. Drawing on the experience of her own European wedding, Fay is able to offer candid advice and an insider’s perspective. Her background in psychology has been an unexpected asset. “Events can be quite stressful; having a deeper understanding of behavior and being able to relate to different points of view is very helpful on the job.”
The affairs Fay creates are infused with charm; her attention to detail ensures all aspects of a wedding are tailored to each couple’s aesthetic, from noteworthy ways to incorporate something blue to custom scents for the bride and groom. While exploring wedding fragrance options, Fay came across Design In Scent, a company that works with hotels, major brands, and individuals seeking bespoke perfumes to craft meaningful aromas that can be bottled or diffused through the air. “I thought it was such an amazing idea,” she says. “Scent can transport you to another place and time in an instant; using a special fragrance at an event adds such a romantic and memorable dimension to the day.”
Fay was excited to collaborate with Design In Scent’s founder, Gemma Hopkins but discovered that Hopkins had plans to shutter the company, in part due to the overwhelming demands of running the business alone. Two weeks after their first meeting, Fay came on board as partner and managing director; in addition to overseeing business development and project management, she regularly exercises her legal skills within the organization.
Design In Scent specializes in sophisticated fragrances for weddings — products include mists to scent invitations and linens, candles that can be personalized and given as favors, eaux de parfum, and dry-air diffusers — and olfactory experiences for brands, such as educational scent salons and specialty formulations tied to product launches. Fay delights in the company’s ability to create aromatic moments that capture the imagination and linger in clients’ memories. “When I switched careers, I realized how important it is to spend time doing something you really enjoy,” she says. “Now, my career is really a part of me. It makes me feel like I am contributing something to the world; it challenges me all of the time in such a positive way, and it has helped me build a network of people I adore.”