You might think these two are washed up before they begin, and in a way, they are.

Her tiny veil flying in the breeze, Christine Buono, 34, soaped and rinsed a car, with an eye to Saturday morning's threatening skies. She wore the veil marked "Bride to Be" during a car wash that she and fiance, Justin Harrison, 37, held to benefit the North Hills Community Outreach.

The McCandless couple decided to sponsor the service project in lieu of having bachelor and bachelorette parties before their July 24 nuptials at St. Catherine of Sweden Church in Hampton.

It will be the second marriage for Ms. Buono, who said, "We decided we wanted to do something for someone else. We're not 25 and don't need to party."

Customers who pulled into the parking lot at Bruster's Ice Cream on Route 8 in Hampton could get a free car wash in exchange for a food or financial donation for the community agency, an interfaith, nonprofit organization with headquarters in Hampton. Bruster's made the space available for the project.

Family and some members of the wedding party bonded over soapy fenders, which Ms. Buono said she and Mr. Harrison thought would be a fun way for everyone to get together, instead of meeting on the day of the wedding.

"It's a refreshing change," said Fay Morgan, the outreach's executive director. She said 1,155 new families have sought assistance from community outreach since the beginning of the year, and the help is appreciated.

Ms. Buono is an accounting software consultant and Mr. Harrison, who took time off to help his mother recover from back surgery, will return in August to Palate Partners and Dreadnought Wines in the Strip District as facility manager.

The couple met online 2 1/2 years ago. Mission-minded, they spent part of their early courtship on a trip to South Africa where they organized Bible schools for Music for Life, the parent organization of the African Children's Choir. The couple saw the choir in Columbus, Ohio, and after the performance, heard about ways to help, including short-term trips, such as the one they chose to make.

"The mission trip really cemented our relationship," Mr. Harrison said. "We realized service for others was something we wanted to continue."

Ms. Buono agreed.

"When you come back from something like that, you don't look at life the same way," she said.

The couple attends St. Catherine Church and the outreach minister, Lori Barch, put them in touch with community outreach.

Besides the car wash, the couple plans to forgo favors for guests at the wedding reception, which also will be held at St. Catherine.

"In lieu of favors, we have chosen to make donations to the food pantry and Music for Life, in honor of our guests, and spend the money on something meaningful," Ms. Buono said. "We will let the guests know in notes or in the program."

Mr. Harrison said their families are well aware of their mission bent. They went to a work camp in West Virginia last year with a group from St. Catherine, which has been sending volunteers there for 20 years.

"I went 11 years straight," said Mr. Harrison, who grew up in Hampton. Ms. Buono is from Hopewell.

Jennifer Bruns of Coraopolis, a bridesmaid and college friend of Ms. Buono, said she liked the idea of the car wash and thought it was a good way to get together.

Mr. Harrison's aunt, Marlene Lutz of Monroeville, wasn't surprised by the project. "Nothing surprises me that they do. They're always doing something for someone else," she said.

His parents, Linda and John Harrison, also participated. "They're very community aware," Mrs. Harrison said, adding that she and her husband took their four boys on St. Catherine's group's first trip to Appalachia.

The Rev. Blair Morgan, director for evangelical mission for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod, and Ms. Morgan's husband, ate an ice cream cone while his car was being washed.

"It's a great idea and I want to support it," he said of the benefit.

On Monday, Mrs. Morgan reported that the car wash, which suffered from cloudy weather and intermittent sprinkles of rain, netted nine bags of food and $220 in donations.

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