Recipe For An Instant Wedding

FOR THE RECORD (July 18, 1996): Meadow View at Damon House, mentioned in Tuesday’s IN Life section as a popular Spokane wedding location, closed last Friday.

FOR THE RECORD (July 19, 1996): Meadow View at Damon House, mentioned in Tuesday’s IN Life section as a popular Spokane wedding location, will close Sept. 1. The closing date was reported incorrectly Thursday.

Everyone knows that it takes months and months of planning to create the perfect wedding.

But what if you don’t have months to plan your ceremony? What if you only have weeks or days? Can you still have a beautiful wedding without spending endless hours worrying over the details? The answer is a resounding “!” - if you are organized and flexible.

First, pick a date and time. Saturday afternoons are the most popular so you may want to choose to have a mid-week wedding. Thursday or Sunday evenings are good alternatives.

Next, you need to find someone to perform the ceremony. If you and your intended are both members of the same church or synagogue, your clergy or rabbi may agree to marry you on short notice.

If you are not affiliated with a church, there are a number of clergy listed in the Yellow Pages who are available to perform weddings.

Location - if the church you want is not available think about the back yard, a friend’s home or one of the many halls available for rent.

Gretna Green and Meadow View at Damon House are two popular Spokane wedding locations. You can get married and hold the reception at these sites. They also offer assistance with many other aspects of the event.

Next comes the matter of the dress. Forget about ordering one. It takes at least eight weeks for the dress to arrive and be fitted. Your best bet is to choose a gown already in stock at a bridal or formal wear store. Another solution is to borrow a dress from a friend or family member.

Formal wear for the men can also be a problem. While most tuxedo shops may be able to accommodate one or two outfits on short notice, they may not have a wide variety of sizes or styles available due to previous reservations. Consider having the men wear similar colored suits with matching shirts and ties.

You won’t have time to order engraved invitations and mail them out. Instead, make up a list of guests and have a friend help you call everyone. E-mail is another great way to get the word out in a hurry.

For flowers, have each member of the party carry a single rose or lily.

The next decision is the cake. According to Sandy Terhaar, owner of Sweet Cravings and Classy Cakes on Northwest Boulevard, you should allow at least a week for a traditional wedding cake to be prepared. “All of us (professional wedding cake designers) can put together a beautiful cake in as little as three days, but we prefer to have 10 days to create the cake,” said Terhaar.

If you choose to have a professional photographer at the ceremony you will need to make those arrangements at least two weeks prior to the date. Michael Shollenberger, president of the Washington State Professional Photographers Association and owner of Memories by Michael, also suggests a mid-week ceremony if you want a professional photographer on short notice.

Another option is to arrange to have a formal portrait taken several days after the wedding in the photographer’s studio.

Finally, we think the best advice for successfully planning a quick wedding comes from Linda Bunn, owner of Meadow View at Damon House. She advises that you always remember to K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple, Sweetheart.

MEMO: Shanna Southern Peterson is a Spokane writer and home economist. The Clothesline appears weekly. Ideas for the column may be sent to her c/o The Spokesman-Review Features Department, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210.