On a pleasant spring evening on the Xavier greenspace, Katie Gray, a student from Tennessee, “married” Marclo Kisula, a student from the Congo. It wasn’t a real wedding, but it was meant to showcase the ceremonial traditions of many different cultures and nationalities.

So Katie sat in a white tent, in a white dress, wearing a Moroccan headdress and received a henna tattoo. A short distance away, Marclo mounted a white horse draped in Indian weavings. He wore a kippah on his head and rode down the Residential Mall toward his “bride to be,” while his groomsmen played tambourines and Middle Eastern drums.

After a 20-minute ceremony incorporating four different faiths, Marclo broke a glass under his heel, and jumped with Katie over a broom. Then the couple and all the guests celebrated with a meal served by the Hindu Temple of Cincinnati, the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati, the Ohav Shalom synagogue and the Bellarmine Chapel.

The party went on into the night with international music, dancing and more food.