From the traditional chuppah or Jewish wedding canopy to the African custom of jumping the broom, Lauren and Tom Muscatine blended their diverse backgrounds when they designed the ceremony for their recent nuptials.

For starters, a Jewish rabbi and a Methodist minister co-officiated the Sept. 1 ceremony, held at the groom’s mother’s home in Napa.

“We wanted to represent both faiths,” explains Lauren Muscatine, an online editor for a state science journal and former Sacramento resident. “Though we don’t currently practice [our religions], we know it’s a strong part of our family roots.”

Lauren and Tom met in the summer of 2004 through the online dating service, Match.com. They spent six months planning their wedding, which
featured Caribbean cuisine—a favorite of Tom’s, a Napa property manager—and San Francisco jazz saxophonist Anton Schwartz.

The two say they especially enjoyed creating a ceremony reflective of their distinctive and respective backgrounds.

The minister, a family friend of the bride’s, flew in from Atlanta to help celebrate. The groom stomped on a wine glass, an ancient Jewish custom believed to commemorate the destruction of the holy temple in Jerusalem. The Muscatines concluded by jumping over a broom, an African tradition meant to sweep away evil spirits, Lauren says.

“There was a sense of intimacy there, yet a sense of welcoming [us into] the larger world,” Lauren says.