FashioNica Met Her Husband at a Boba Shop — and He Proposed on Their First Date

Welcome back to Weddings-ish with Jove! Today Jove is joined by Nica Che, founder of FashioNica, the vintage designer bag business that took off virtually overnight. From sliding into a Cosmopolitan editor's DMs as a 20-year-old to landing celebrity styling gigs, leaving corporate to build her own business during the pandemic, and finally — after a five-year engagement — planning her entire dream wedding in just 90 days, Nica shares it all. In this episode, Nica opens up about meeting her husband at an Orange County boba shop when he ordered her exact drink to start a conversation, the Party City plastic ring he used to "propose" at the end of their very first date, and the wallet test she put him through that night without him knowing dinner was already free. She gets candid about a five-year engagement her wedding planner had to politely beg her to actually plan, the texts to her mom from said planner, and the moment she realized she had 90 days to pull off a wedding dress, venue activation, and every detail. She also takes us inside her intentional, design-forward wedding — the ivory Tony Hamawy gown by Lo-Ho Bride, the wearable-art Coleguer floral clutch she carried down the aisle (painted by hand by her florist), the custom sugar-free chocolate invitations from Phantom Chocolate that doubled as the party favor budget, the personalized handwritten letter she wrote for each of her 119 guests, the hidden ladybug on her nail (and matching pin on her husband's sleeve) for luck, and the live painter who painted her guests into the wedding portrait now hanging in their home. Plus, Nica shares how she built FashioNica from a single TikTok that hit a million views overnight, the brutal first year of ""saying no to everything personally to say yes to everything for the business,"" and her tips for sourcing vintage bags around the world. In this episode: - Nica's career path from unpaid Hearst Magazine intern to founder of FashioNica  - How a DM to a Cosmopolitan editor turned into styling celebrities in LA  - Leaving corporate marketing to go all-in on vintage bags  - The TikTok that hit a million views overnight and changed everything  - Meeting her husband at a boba shop (and the chocolate milk tea that brought them together)  - The Party City plastic ring ""proposal"" on their first date  - The wallet test she put him through at the OC Night Market  - A five-year engagement and a wedding planner who texted her mom  - The ivory Lo-Ho Bride gown and the Coleguer floral clutch she carried down the aisle  - The ladybug nail and pin for good luck on the wedding day  - The live painter who painted the guests into the portrait  - Honoring both her Filipino heritage and her husband's Vietnamese heritage  - Her two Frenchies as ring bearers (and the very audible breathing during vows)  Whether you're here for vintage fashion inspiration, the chaos of planning a wedding in 90 days, or a meet-cute that genuinely belongs in a rom-com, this episode is full of heartfelt moments, behind-the-scenes laughs, and beautiful wedding ideas. This episode is brought to you by Travel by David's — plan your honeymoon, getaway, or room block all in one place, with savings up to 30%. Visit https://www.davidsbridal.com/travel to get started today.  Learn more about Mitzi and the protections engaged couples may want consider putting in place here: https://www.hellomitzi.com/resources/the-one-thing-every-engaged-couple-should-do-but-nobody-talks-about Have a question for Jove? Send a voice memo or email to [email protected] Follow along for more behind-the-scenes fun: Instagram: @jovemeyer and @LoveStoriesTV"