Ashley Howie understands that life goes by too fast to worry over every tiny detail. So when it came time to plan her wedding, she kept it simple, made swift but smart decisions, and let her planner do the heavy lifting.

The bride laughs when she recalls how she met her husband, Stuart Tallichet, “really nerdily” at a party before law-school prom. Both were students at SMU when one of their professors threw a kegger, where they started talking. The next day, Stuart asked Ashley to go with him to the Barristers’ Ball, where they hit it off.

Now Ashley’s not the type of woman who started talking marriage that first year. Nor is she the gal who has spent a decade poring over wedding magazines and websites, dreaming of frothy gowns and heart-shaped bridal bouquets. So Stuart’s proposal came as a surprise to the now 29-year-old attorney, who has a lilt in her voice when she tells the story. As for her wedding day, “I didn’t really know what I wanted and didn’t care so much what I got,” she says, “as long as it was pretty.”

To help with the execution, Ashley hired Emily Rembert of Mathes & Co. Events, who was tasked with turning what the bride describes as a “blank slate” into a celebration worthy of 200 guests and one special love story.

Ashley wasn’t entirely without opinions though. She wanted a spring wedding that incorporated an element of the outdoors. The Nasher Sculpture Garden had an April date open, so the reception venue was set, but the museum does not allow for ceremonies. Emily had recently planned a ceremony in the rotunda at nearby Chase Tower, and that suited Ashley and Stuart just fine.

Because the couple lives in Houston, much of the wedding planning took place over email. Emily would suggest options, Ashley would do a little Internet reconnaissance, and then she’d make a decision. The first time they met photographer Andrea Polito was for their engagement shoot; they even hired their band sight unseen. In her easygoing way, Ashley trusted it would all work out. Which, of course, it did.

Emily draped the ground level of the soaring rotunda in white and accented the space with pink and white flowers. “Bright but soft” is how the bride describes it. In the garden at the Nasher, white lights were strung tree to tree. Two long farm tables and many round tables were set with silver and crystal, candles in glass containers, and bouquets of pink and white flowers in a variety of silver vases. Amid the glow of downtown and the priceless art collection, guests had dinner and a fun evening of dancing to mark the start of a new marriage.

—Allison Hatfield

As for her wedding day, “I didn’t really know what I wanted and didn’t care so much what I got,” she says, “as long as it was pretty.”