Yes, it will come back quickly and look great if you keep it watered through the event. You probably don't even have to start two weeks ahead of time, but may want to assume you do and follow the directions already given to be on the safe side.

I don't that the two week head start is sufficient.

You probably need to start 5 to 6 weeks in advance. It will take a heavy saturating irrigation for about 3 to 4 weeks to get it rolling, and a couple of weeks to keep it there. You will need to reduce irrigation the final week so that the soil is not mushy.

I'm not sure if you mean it's just dormant, or kind of tan.

You did say "green up", and to me, that implies some off-green or yellow. Especially since you said "nicer if the lawn was green".

Based on what you wrote, I'd suggest watering very substantially.

Watering about 4 to 5 days per week should do the trick. And twice as much as you mentioned, for at least the next 3 weeks. Then 4 to 5 days at maybe an inch per week.

I worked at 6 golf courses and country clubs around Portland, and remember how much water we had to apply to keep turf green, or get it to recover.

Hmmmm.....that sounds a bit excessive. It depends a lot on the soil and sun conditions of course, but deep irrigation (so that the water soaks in deeply) several times a week should be sufficient. While I don't intentionally water my lawn, the overspray from a new ocillating sprinkler used in other planting areas only twice a week has rapidly greened up areas that had been pretty summer dormant previously. And I'd start now to ensure you have lawn that is looking just right when the big event arrives. Mowing often and not too short will also help to avoid that yellow scalped look as well.

I can water dried out parts of my lawn and have it green the next day. But it hasn't been baking all summer in Portland.

I'd start watering deeply (at least an inch at a time)every other day starting now. I'd also think about throwing on a grain based fertliser like soybean meal or alfalfa pellets to trick it out of dormacy. I have a very small lawn too and it takes a lot of water to keep it green this time of the year.

Will the wedding be where the lawn is?

Or do you just want it to look better than it is, for company?

What brings it out of summer dormancy is moisture.

My soil, and lawn, has the needs that mdvaden described. If I didn't water every other day it would be fried........especially with the warmer weather we've had lately. When it hits the high 90's I have to water every day. And yes, I'm watering deeply.

The week we had where the temps were in the 100's a few sprinkler heads did not reach areas they should have and those spots are still recovering!

Natural cycle is to be green during frequent rains and low temperatures of autumn through spring, go to seed and dry up during summer. To keep a lawn green through summer you have to duplicate the rainy season.

The past two posts parallel part of the reason for my earlier suggestions.

Grass does tend to thrive in the initial stages of autumn. Moist and cool. The reason I suggested up to 2" of water for the first weeks, was not just for wet, but because the irrigation water is cooler than the soil it's falling on.

Well... now I know that bringing a lawn back to green takes a lot of effort and water and time. We were absolutely convinced that we were going to start a serious water regimen right after I read all your postings, but... well... uh... um... (insert throat clearing noises here) ...time got away from us.

And so, instead of watering for weeks and weeks and weeks, we ended up watering for a mere two weeks, as had been originally suggested. We watered heavily three times each of those two weeks. And, as you might have guessed, there was no visible color change.

The party was a great success, however! So thanks for all your help. I really appreciate all the thought you put into your suggestions.