Katy Perry the Wedding Unicorn: she sneezes glitter, pees lemonade, and shoots pink fire

Guest post by Anna Schumacher
 | Photography by Erik Rivas McGregor
wedding unicorn 1 alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)
All photos by Kat Green and Erik Rivas McGregor.

Our wedding featured a life-sized unicorn that sneezed glitter, peed lemonade, and shot pink fire. If that sounds more like the twisted fantasy of a six-year-old girl than a standard wedding item… well, that's just how we roll.

My husband and I met through our local Burning Man community and are friends with some seriously talented fire geeks. We knew we wanted a piece of original fire art for our wedding, so one of our first moves after getting engaged was to ask our friends if they'd create something. We didn't give any specifications (besides “awesome”), but since I'm obsessed with unicorns and things that shoot fire, it was a bit of a no-brainer.

Katy Perry the Wedding Unicorn began her life as a black carousel horse with feathers in her hair. Upon her arrival in Brooklyn, Master Unicorn Builders Kat and Jesse Green repainted her from black to white, cut holes in her forehead, nostrils, and crotchal region and custom-built a base that would both give her height (aka “majesty”) and house the fuel tanks and keg.

She was named during a routine visit to Jesse's doctor. They were describing the unicorn to her and she laughingly asked, “what're you naming it — Katy Perry?” The only answer to that is, of course, “we are now.”

wedding unicorn before 1 alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

wedding unicorn before 2 alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

Since I tend to go to parties encrusted in glitter and always have extra on hand for the under-sparkled, it made sense for our unicorn to have a glitter effect.  Kat and Jesse built in a small air compressor to activate the “glitter sneeze.” It runs through a gravity-fed glitter containment unit, and is controlled from an arduino switch that is activated by a button on the base of the sculpture.

Beverages are run by a CO2 pressurized corny keg, also in the base, with a beverage tap at the crotch. She was originally supposed to pee champagne, but Vermont liquor laws prohibit anyone who is not a licensed bartender from serving alcohol on public land, and we weren't able to get the unicorn licensed in time. Plus, we figured that with lemonade, the kids could also partake — and have something to talk about with their therapists later.

wedding unicorn peeing lemonade alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

Katy Perry's horn is hammered copper with a flame-cut finial. The fire effect is an aerosolized methanol spray (which creates the pink color and liquid-looking flare), with a propane pilot.

wedding unicorn 2 alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

wedding unicorn 3 alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

Under supervision, wedding guests could activate the flare via a button on the back of the base. When timed correctly, she shot fire and sneezed glitter at the same time.

wedding unicorn 4 alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

Katy Perry was built in Brooklyn and transported to Vermont in high style by rental minivan. Overall, she took about four months to build and cost approximately $3,000 in materials. The labor was Kat and Jesse's wedding gift to us. They were tinkering with her up until the wedding began, even in their bridesmaid and groomsmen get-up (PS: how badass is Kat in her welding gloves and gingham?).

wedding unicorn 5 alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

wedding unicorn 6 alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

And frankly, it's the best gift a unicorn-loving bride and her pyromaniac groom could ever ask for.

wedding unicorn 7 alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

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Comments on Katy Perry the Wedding Unicorn: she sneezes glitter, pees lemonade, and shoots pink fire

  1. The only conceivable way this could have been any more awesome is if it shat cupcakes.

    • Yes! Me me me me me me me!!!! Nevermind I live in Ohio and I’m not even getting married – I’ve gotta have that for SOMETHING! (My kid turns 10 next April…hmmmm….She IS a big fan of Katy Perry…)

    • Amen. I’m doing an Offbeat Bride booth at a wedding industry thing in Vegas this fall, and I would kill to have Katy Perry in the booth with me.

  2. This is bar none the absolute coolest thing I’ve ever seen on OBE, and I’ve been here a long time (in internet years.) It may be among the coolest things I have EVER seen at all, anywhere. Thanks for sharing Katy with us!!

  3. This is literally the best thing I’ve ever seen, or will see for the rest of my life.

  4. every wedding without a katy perry unicorn will now be lacking from here until the end of time. amazing.

  5. This is like…you know how in Snow Crash, there’s that guy permanently attached to a nuclear bomb, and after meeting him Hiro accepts that he’s never going to be the biggest badass in the world because that spot is already taken, and that’s kind of relaxing? The best wedding ever has clearly already happened, so the rest of us can just relax and do whatever we feel like.

    • HA! Amen. I also feel like this can be a reference point with family members. “Oh, you think it’s weird that I’m wearing a blue wedding dress? Well, at least we’re not having a lemonade-peeing unicorn! …OH AND BTW: THAT BRIDE WORE WHITE!”

      • You know, I was going to threaten my mother with a Star Wars themed wedding instead of our Renaissance themed wedding if she got persnickety….but this….oh this is just bloody perfect to shut her up with!!!

    • Today is my partner and my first mensiversary (“month”iversary), and this is the icing on the cake!

      I still love all things on Offbeat Bride, but this is an especially awesome thing to be to see shortly after a wedding. We love it! We want to be there drinking that lemonade pee right now! But it’s not like we can realistically worry, “oh no! We forgot to make a glitter-sneezing, lemonade peeing, fire-shooting unicorn!” I’m going to use this as my rock for enjoying the awesomeness of others while knowing I can’t do everything. Totally perfect!

  6. just showed my lil girl the lemonade tap she went screaming eww to get her sister bringing her back to look at the big horsey peeing

  7. Dear god, this is awesome!!! My brain keeps saying “Awesome!!!!” and “What?!?!” at the same time. Very cool 🙂

  8. Wow, thanks everyone! I guess I’ll hold off on talking about the blinky tennis court and homemade hot tub for now…

  9. I saw the title and was like “Oh, this is a metaphor for something” and then read the post going ” wait, this actually HAPPENED?!?!?!” There are no sufficient words for the amazingness.

  10. Holy crapperony… I’ve been pondering about what to call this in my reply, but there are simply NO words to describe the awesomeness of this thing!!
    Your friends are the BEST EVAH to make this all by themselves!

  11. Minor detail… “she” pees like a boy 😉

    WICKED amazing!!!!!!!!! I would die to have this, especially if our “reception” turns out to be the meat-smoking-pool-party-gun-range-rocking-party!!!

    • re, minor detail: She may not be a cisgender unicorn — please allow the unicorns to identify for themselves their pronouns & identities! 😉

    • She’s back in Brooklyn now. There is talk of her attending the next NYC Maker Faire.

  12. it’s just as well that words are inadequate for my response because I would have to pick my jaw up from the floor! truly an AMAZING gift from obviously awesome friends and now I can’t wait to read about the rest of the wedding!
    and congratulations on your marriage!

  13. GO Katy Perry!
    I met Katy in Kat and Jesse’s basement when I was shooting a webisode in amongst all of their other awesome stuff. They’ve built go-go cages, crazy couches, funky bars. (Kat is also a film editor.) I got to see the fire test in their backyard at the wrap party.

    I’m so glad to see photo’s of Katy in all her glory!!! Nice work Kat and Jesse!

  14. Can I just say that it there were ever a more perfect post for OBB, there is no longer. THIS. THIS. THIS all day long.

  15. I was lucky enough to attend this amazing wedding with the out of control and bad-ass Katy Perry. It was so amazing that my fiancée and I can not, now, invite any of our mutual friends to our wedding next summer because NO WAY could you ever top this event! Katy Perry was just one aspect of this wedding. It was amazing fun! (bridal party with cotton candy bouquets was just amazing)

  16. This is the coolest thing ever!!!!! I sent this link to all my friends, especially the one who said that her ex-beast husband was proudly going to Burning Man as a girls sparkle pony, douche thought it was complimentary, knob! She totally needed to see this. Dang this is the hottest thing on OBB ever! Love it, please promise me you’ll post some more if Katy Perry goes to other weddings or goes on tour. Kat is so hot! Not saying that the lovely bride and groom weren’t, but love the picture of her in her pin up dress and sunglasses with wielding gloves!!!! Lol, that must have been quite the wedding!

    Congrats looks like your wedding is off to a good start. Thanks so much for sharing and I want some of that sweet, sweet lemonade!! That horse is amazing 🙂

  17. Dear Burners: I love you. Thank-you for awesoming it! While we likely won’t have a fire-horned unicorn, something that dispense sparkles is now in the cards.

    (the first thing my partner noticed was the bouncy castle. it is not a party without one)

  18. Holy fuckballs this is probably the most amazing thing I think I’ve ever seen.

  19. I keep coming back to this post. Seriously. Cannot. Get. Enough. Of Katy Perry.

  20. You need to offer to rent this out for parties and make a ton of money off it. Seriously, cash uni-pony! Lol….. I really want one for my future wedding (sadly my BF would probably think I need to be put in an asylum. The problems of dating a non-geek.)

  21. I feel like I need to get married again and beg you to rent this to me, because it’s awesome. Since I still love my spouse, perhaps we could do a vow renewal …

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