Elephant toothpaste unity ceremony as seen on @offbeatbride #elephant #toothpaste #unityceremony
Via YouTube

Science fans: this wild unity ceremony is straight up your alley. We love a good science-y unity ceremony, like this Prince Rupert's Drop ceremony and this chemical reaction ceremony. We recently stumbled on a new one with an awesome name that we had to share: the elephant toothpaste ceremony!

When you combine a few ingredients, a chemical reaction is made that produces a substance that looks like toothpaste an elephant might use. The symbolism is that you combine two separate elements to form a new, awesome reaction (aka your partnership!). There are a few ways to do it, but we chose the safest method that is safer on hands.

Elephant toothpaste ceremony materials:

  • empty 20-oz bottle (or container of your choosing)
  • 3% hydrogen peroxide solution
  • packet of active yeast
  • liquid dishwashing detergent
  • warm water
  • food coloring

Pour 1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide solution, 1/4 cup dishwashing liquid, and a few drops of food coloring into the bottle. Shake the bottle around to mix the ingredients. Warning: this will foam up pretty high, so protect any areas you want protected.

In a separate container, mix a packet of active yeast with a little warm water and a few drops of a second food coloring. I'd recommend a non-complementary color so that it doesn't just form a brown. Think more in terms of creating a new color. Think blue + yellow = green or red + blue = purple. Give the yeast about five minutes to activate.

When you are ready to perform your unity ceremony, combine the two components into one container and watch the magic happen! Here's a video of the concept:

After the unity ceremony is over, the solution can safely be poured down the drain with water.


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Comments on What the hell is an elephant toothpaste unity ceremony?!

  1. My husband and i did a peanut butter and jelly unity sandwich… it was perfect for us.

  2. I have tried this repeatedly and I can’t get it to shoot up like in the video!! We tried yeast, didn’t work. So then we tried Potassium Iodide, still didn’t work. We even bought 1 mL erlenmeyer flasks! I would love to have this at out Halloween themed wedding but not the foaming out of the bottle but shooting out! We are having an outside wedding so space is not an issue!

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