As a child, Holly Fawcett vividly remembers the extravagant parties her mother, Susan Musto, would throw: December birthdays featuring Santa Claus, and in the summer, pool parties with ponies.
Thanks to a mother overflowing with creative juices, Fawcett's world was always full of lavish tea parties and theme parties - like the "hurricane party" celebrating Hurricane Gloria - that were just another way to throw a fun bash.
The young Fawcett, a 1989 Waltham High School graduate, soon began planning parties for friends at school, she said.
And then she made a career out of her party-planning skills, and spent years as an event planner for the government - a "top secret" job that required high-level clearance, she said.
"I loved it, but I was working 80 hours a week, and I decided I'd rather do something fun with my talents," said Fawcett.
She opened her own company, In the Pink, and planned her first wedding in 2000.
Ten years later, In the Pink Ink, based at Fawcett's Waltham home, has blossomed into a successful event planning business for social, non-profit, and corporate functions.
"People have told me I'm Julia Childs, Martha Stewart, and Ina Garten (of Food Network fame), all rolled into one," Fawcett said.
Part of her talent includes an ability to work with any budget, she said.
"I have taken a $5,000 budget or under and made it look like people spent $40,000 or more," she said. In the Pink charges between five and seven percent of her client's total budget.
She can do vegan, she can do kosher, and she always does green, she said.
"I just did a vegan wedding. It was very interesting, fun and interesting," Fawcett said.
First on the menu: a tofu-encrusted skewer with three tandoori dipping sauces.
A vegetarian feast doesn't have to feel limiting or bland, she said.
Fawcett describes her style as calm, relaxed and organized, which comes in handy with anxious brides, she said.
"I just get things done. If something needs to happen, it happens," said Fawcett.
Her events are "very green and very minimalistic," with a "big bang" quality, she said.
By "green," Fawcett said, she has planned a corporate fundraiser where she pre-arranged all the flowers to be donated to a local farmer for compost, and the leftover food to go to a local food bank or shelter, for example.
"A lot of my vendors are green, sustainable vendors, and they get a lot of their product locally. I'm a big supporter of localizing things," said Fawcett.
"Even now, you always have to think globally and act locally, because we only have one place (earth) to live," she said.
She also mentors interns from area universities, including Regis College in Weston, Lasell College in Newton, and Lesley College in Cambridge.
"These are girls who really want to be event planners," she said.
As for Fawcett, she is living her dream job, but has room for one more ambition.
"I'm fascinated by Martha Stewart. I admire her poise and control and demeanor. She commands an audience when she walks in the room," Fawcett said.
"I would love to plan a party for Martha Stewart. I'd be honored and privileged to throw her a party. I think she'd be pretty impressed," she said.
For more information about In the Pink Ink, logon to www.inthepinkink.com. Fawcett will launch a second Web site, www.fawcettproductions.com, focusing on corporate and non-profit event planning, on Feb. 1.
Joyce Kelly can be reached at 781-398-8005 or jkelly@cnc.com.
