Name: Wendy Spero
Age: 31
Location: Los Angeles
Occupation: Comedian, Actress, Writer
URL: www.wendyspero.com
When and where did you get married? Where did you get the idea to have cupcakes for your wedding, and how did you go about finding a bakery?
I got married on Labor Day weekend, at my husband's (still very weird to say that word) mother's house in Albuquerque, New Mexico. There were roughly 140 people or so. When we first decided on the location, I was slightly concerned because I'm not really into Aztec stuff, turquoise jewelry, chili peppers, or adobe. And I can't eat spicy Mexican food because of a super sensitive stomach. But I did like the idea of having a casual wedding at a house, and it ultimately worked out well. I just prepared plain pasta for myself beforehand, and all our guy friends bought and wore bolo ties.
I associate "getting married" with being a grown-up. But I don't feel like a grown-up or want to be a grown-up. I worried that the little kids at my wedding would look up at me and think I was some sort of boring adult, and I fantasized about having to lean down to them throughout the wedding and clarifying, "I'm one of you." So it was important to keep the wedding as casual and child-like as possible. Bubbles were blown during the ceremony. We had crayons at every table, for people to doodle on the paper placemats. I wanted a lot of balloons. (We didn't end up having them, though. The balloon man never showed. Months earlier, when we were visiting the flower woman, she leaned in and whispered, "Don't trust the balloon man." So we should have known.) And, most importantly, we wanted cupcakes instead of cake. The kind you'd get at a really cool kid birthday party. But we hadn't anticipated the mini cupcake option. I didn't even know minis existed. Amos's sister had heard of Cake Fetish, and as soon as we saw their minis, we knew they'd work perfectly and help maintain the vibe we wanted.
You wound up using Cake Fetish; was it an easy process and were they helpful to you?
Cake Fetish rocked our worlds. They were easy to work with and we just picked up the cupcakes the day before and stored them at a friend's house. (The store was closed on Sunday). They suggested renting a cupcake tier at a nearby rental place. I think the store plans on providing tiers in the future⎯apparently they have been getting more and more requests for weddings.
What kinds of cupcakes did you have? What was the reaction from guests?
We had a least twenty different kinds of cupcakes, all scattered together. Red-velvet. Dark minty chocolate. Vanilla Cream. All with different fillings. Various combinations. Guests could not stop raving. They especially liked the fact that they were mini cupcakes, not just your basic cool cupcakes. The only issue was dividing them up. Right before the tier was brought out, I announced into a microphone, "And now it is time for cupcakes. Everyone gets three minis." Many guests felt compelled to try more than three flavors, though, and went ahead and ate seven or eight of them. So that meant that some people didn't get any. My friend recently admitted that she ate ten minis. She kept going back to the tier, each time pretending that it was her first trip to the table.
Is there anything you'd have done differently? Would you recommend cupcakes over a traditional wedding cake to other people?
I suppose maybe I would have ordered more cupcakes to begin with, so we would have had more than enough for everyone. But I'd definitely recommend cupcakes over a traditional cake. Wedding cake is never good⎯and even if it is, it's never fun to eat. It requires a fork. Cupcakes not only taste better, but they remind you of being a little kid, so they help create the kind of fun, carefree, celebratory atmosphere you'd want at a wedding.
Your memoir is called Microthrills: True Stories from a Life of Small Highs. Can you briefly explain what a Microthrill is? Are cupcakes a Microthrill for you?
Microthrills are small, strange highs that give my life meaning . . . like smelling fruity markers, consuming candy, and collecting stuffed animals. Cupcakes are most definitely Microthrills. There's a mini thrill ride in every darn bite.
And now for some personal questions:
How often do you eat cupcakes?
I don't eat cupcakes very often because of my oversensitive stomach. I have to be extra careful about fatty cake products. But I think about cupcakes often. I own cupcake earrings and like to wear a cupcake-decorated t-shirt. And I have a cupcake piggy bank.
What's the best thing about eating cupcakes?
To be perfectly honest, I'm not all that into icing, and I derive great pleasure from peeling off the icing layer before devouring the cake part. I also like licking off the remaining cake from the paper afterwards.
What's your favorite type of cupcake?
Pumpkin.
How do cupcakes compare/contrast to other baked goods for you?
Other baked goods totally suck compared to cupcakes. I cannot imagine why one would ever choose a cake or a pie or a scone or a muffin over a cupcake. Other baked goods are awkward⎯they usually have to be cut into clunky pieces and served on plates. Cupcakes are compact. They are small packaged cubes of orgasmic energy.
Is there any innovation you'd like to see made to the cupcake that would improve it for you?
It would be nice if every cupcake came with a very small plastic Dixie cup of water. I get thirsty after eating cupcakes.
Do you bake your own cupcakes? Or (even better) have someone who bakes them for you?
Sadly, no. I can barely make pasta properly. But there is a great bakery near my house, thank GOD.
What's your first cupcake-related memory?
My mother once made pumpkin cupcakes for Halloween and the pumpkin batter smell filled our small apartment for days. It was glorious.
What's the most fun you've ever had with a cupcake?
I once won a Hostess cupcake at a raffle at my day camp when I was, like, five. It was the first and last time I've won anything. Eating a Hostess was especially thrilling, because I wasn't allowed processed-type foods.
Do you have anything else to add?
Just that I'm thrilled to be playing a small role in the overall cupcake movement.
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