Interior designers Cameron Billinghurst and Nolan Beck Rivera brought together fashion, culture, food, and community for an unforgettable wedding at Richmond’s historic Branch Museum of Design, where every guest was dressed in shades of white and beige.
For interior designers Cameron Billinghurst and Nolan Beck Rivera, their love story began with a simple gesture: a single calla lily.
The pair first met on a Tinder date while visiting their families in Northern Virginia during the holidays. Cameron brought Nolan the flower when they met for coffee, but the connection initially faded. Exactly one year later, on December 26, 2019, they unexpectedly crossed paths at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC.
This time, things were different. They reconnected, began speaking every day, and grew closer during the pandemic. Eventually, they moved in together in Richmond, Virginia, where they discovered a thriving creative community that inspired them to put down roots.
Their relationship also became a professional partnership. Together, they founded Studio Tarea, a design firm specializing in bespoke residential and commercial interiors.
The couple’s commitment was evident early on. Just months into dating, Nolan commissioned matching rings for them through The Circle Craft. Rather than formally proposing, he simply presented Cameron with the rings, explaining that he had made them a matching pair.
Wedding planning followed a similarly unconventional path. There was no traditional proposal or elaborate engagement announcement. Instead, the two gradually discussed what they wanted from a wedding and eventually chose a date.
“We just wanted everyone to arrive, have enough to eat and drink, and cut a rug with us,” Nolan explained.
A Historic Mansion Sets the Scene
On June 6, 2026, the couple exchanged vows at the Branch Museum of Design, a 1919 Tudor Revival mansion in Richmond’s Fan neighborhood.
The historic property offered a meaningful connection to their family backgrounds. The couple wanted to incorporate their Honduran and African-American heritage through food, music, and entertainment, while the mansion’s English-inspired architecture reflected the cultural history of their fathers.
Their approach to planning centered on hospitality, creativity, and collaboration. Rather than following every conventional wedding tradition, they focused on the details that mattered most to them and enlisted friends and talented members of Richmond’s creative community to help bring their vision to life.
Chef Brittany Anderson, a James Beard Award semifinalist, developed a menu that blended Honduran and Black Southern influences. Floral designer Meredith Wheeler of Secret Flowers created a modern arrangement that contrasted with the mansion’s traditional architecture, while Bryce Carson of Carson Ashby Events coordinated the celebration.
The overall aesthetic was intentionally restrained and contemporary, allowing the historic interiors and the guests’ outfits to make their own statements.
A Dress Code in White and Beige
One of the couple’s most distinctive decisions was their dress code: every groom and guest was asked to wear white, cream, or beige.
The pair were just as excited to see what their friends and family would wear as they were about choosing their own wedding outfits. Guests embraced the idea in different ways. Some wore vintage pieces, others designed their own ensembles, and a few even brought out their original wedding dresses.
Nolan’s former ballet teacher wore her own wedding gown, which had become vintage over the years.
Cameron chose a wool-silk suit by Grand Le Mar, paired with black Jacques Solovière loafers. His accessories included a silver bracelet belonging to his grandmother, Eddie Mae, and a vintage Seiko tank watch.
Nolan’s outfit came together after an unexpected setback. He had initially commissioned a custom ensemble featuring a matador-inspired jacket and oversized designer trousers from an online designer who turned out to be a scammer. With only weeks remaining, he turned to SuitSupply in Washington, DC, for a replacement.
The trousers arrived with an error, requiring a last-minute visit to Roya Alterations in Richmond, where Lida managed to make the necessary adjustments the day before the wedding.
Nolan completed his look with silver-and-pearl calla lily earrings borrowed from a friend, vintage cufflinks, his father’s watch, and Saint Laurent boots. The boots held particular sentimental value: he had purchased them after receiving one of his first major payments as a self-employed designer and had them refurbished for the occasion.
A Weekend of Food, Friends, and Celebration
Wedding festivities began with a picnic in the gardens of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. More than 80 of the couple’s 128 guests had traveled from outside the area, making the gathering an opportunity for everyone to spend additional time together.
The rehearsal dinner took place at the home of friends Lucia Zolea and Patrick Inskeep, whose garden Cameron and Nolan had designed several years earlier. Their daughter, Jane, would serve as the wedding’s flower girl.
Dinner came from Ronnie’s Original BBQ, one of the couple’s favorite restaurants. The owner, Ronnie himself, was present for the occasion.
On the wedding day, guests were welcomed with cocktails and food before making their way to the ceremony lawn. One of the first offerings was chilled peanut soup topped with sunflower chili crisp.
The cocktail selection included mignonette martinis, a signature drink from Bar Buoy, a restaurant the couple had designed, alongside mojitos, a favorite of the grooms.
An Unconventional Ceremony Rooted in Heritage
For the ceremony, Secret Flowers transformed the lawn into a circular chapel made from tall corn stalks, grasses, and Spanish moss. Guests sat in four sections surrounding the central space, creating an intimate, in-the-round arrangement.
A gospel choir performed a cappella from one side of the ceremony area. The music was especially meaningful to Cameron, who grew up attending Southern Baptist church services with his late grandmother, Eddie Mae.
Four vocalists from Gospel Touch performed selections before and during the ceremony, bringing an important part of his childhood into the celebration.
The grooms walked down the aisle to Florence + the Machine’s “Never Let Me Go,” performed by the choir. Their close friend Lanecia Rouse officiated.
Lanecia also spoke about the history and significance of jumping the broom within the Black community. She reminded guests that interracial marriage and same-sex marriage were both rights achieved through hard-fought struggles, and that their continued security should never be taken for granted.
The ceremony lasted just 12 minutes, but its emotional significance stayed with the couple. For Cameron and Nolan, it was a powerful expression of love, history, and the community that had supported them.
The couple also included a traditional broom-jumping moment, connecting their celebration to an important cultural practice.
A Modern Dinner With Honduran and Southern Influences
Following the ceremony, guests moved inside the mansion for dinner.
The tables were kept deliberately minimal, with tall corn stalks displayed on simple chrome bases. The arrangements created visual impact without interfering with conversation or the family-style meal.
Each place setting featured a scented candle developed in collaboration with Na Nin, while Leah Schmidt hand-etched the place cards.
The seating chart was another detail the grooms approached with care. They treated it as an opportunity to introduce friends and family members from different parts of their lives, hoping to create new connections among their guests.
Chef Brittany Anderson prepared grilled chicken, mushroom risotto, cornbread, vegetables, and ticucos, a traditional Honduran tamale-like dish with pre-Hispanic roots. According to the couple, everything except the chicken was vegan.
Dessert came from chef Leah Branch, who prepared individual portions of Cheerwine cake rather than a traditional large wedding cake. The dessert was especially meaningful because it is served at The Roosevelt, one of the couple’s favorite restaurants and the place where they had signed their marriage certificate the previous year.
A Disco Ball Piñata and a Dance Floor Full of Balloons
The reception began with a playful tradition: Cameron and Nolan broke open a custom disco-ball piñata made by local Latin candy shop Dulceria Minilandia.
Its contents were far from ordinary. Alongside candy and chocolate, guests discovered lollipops, flavored condoms, poppers, wigs, fake mustaches, candy cigarettes, heart-shaped glasses, and a silver thong.
The piñata set the tone for a lively evening.
A hundred Mylar balloons dropped from the choir loft as a kaleidoscopic floral video projection illuminated the dance floor. The balloons periodically burst, prompting cheers from the crowd and keeping the party energized.
Guests could also get permanent reminders of the celebration. Tattoo artist Vincent Riquier of The Ceremony Tattoo offered custom designs throughout the reception.
Among the most popular choices were a calla lily drawing inspired by the flower Cameron had given Nolan on their first date, and the word “Amor” written in Nolan’s handwriting.
Some guests received their first-ever tattoos at the wedding.
A Sparkler Exit and a Late-Night Slurpee
After a night of dancing, the grooms made their grand exit surrounded by sparklers before climbing onto Nolan’s 1973 BMW R75/5 motorcycle, with cans tied to the back.
The motorcycle was another personal touch. Nolan had made a heart for it and attached ribbons to soup cans earlier in the week.
The evening did not end there. Many guests continued the celebrations at Babe’s of Carytown, identified by the couple as the oldest lesbian bar on the East Coast.
They danced and caught up with friends until approximately 2 a.m., before crossing the street to a 7-Eleven for celebratory Slurpees.
For Nolan, drinking a bright-red Slurpee while wearing a white tuxedo was a slightly risky decision, but it was one he was happy to make.
Looking back, the couple said the most meaningful part of the wedding was seeing their community come together and contribute to a celebration that reflected their personalities, backgrounds, and shared history.
As Nolan put it, “It’s the best wedding I’ve ever been to.”
