Pruning Bridal Wreath Spirea

I have never really investigated the proper way to prune Spirea. In the past I have just kind of removed any unhealthy parts when they just start to leaf out. Today I googled it and the recommendation for spring flowering spiraeas like my Bridal Wreath is to prune it right to the ground after it is done flowering. That kind of creeps me out. Mine has been there a lot of years and has spread quite a bit so pruning it right to the ground is going to make a pretty big hole and it's right at my front door. I'm concerned about how quickly it will come back. My yard is going to be featured in the local annual garden tour on July 23. Has anybody had the experience in doing this that they can erase my fears of having this huge gaudy hole by my front door for the tour? A big advantage to doing this would be that I have to stain my front step and it would be lot easier with the Spirea out of the way. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Keith

Can't help you with spirea specifically. But I've done it routinely to other multistem shrubs incl callicarpa, buddleia, caryopteris, lespedeza and lagerstroemia to name a few. Even some trees incl cotinus & catalpa, primarily to control size and enhance colorful foliage. They all do fine. But if I miss a few years and then coppice a larger plant, in my experience, it takes a couple years to bounce back.

Thanks Weerobin. Applying that information, my fears could be quite justified since this one has never been cut right back before. Perhaps a safer alternative would
be to just cut each stem back to the base of the flowering head since they are quite unsightly for quite a while after flowering.
Keith

PS. One year my Ostrich Plume Ferns had been all knocked down by winds, so about a month before the same tour I got a brainwave to try cutting it right back so it would come back fresh. I'll never do that again. They never came back til the next year so I really had an eyesore in that corner.

I tried rejuvenating a hugely overgrown deutzia early this spring. But I was too chicken to whack the whole thing back to the ground for fear I'd lose the whole plant. So I cut half the stems to the ground. Of course it looks ridiculous now, but the cut stems are vigorously regrowing from the ground, so I'll whack the others down in late winter (if I remember).

Weerobin has it right on the cyclic nature of this type of rejuvenation. If this were not an object of a garden tour, I would say cut it all down, and plan to water/fertilize this summer and fall to encourage good regrowth. I would NOT create a near-term potential ugly spot when you want to show off your garden.

Otherwise, the periodicity of half or one-third the stems removed at a time (and tolerance for the temporary "bad hair" look) should ensure you never lose the whole plant and always have vigorous component parts.

Larger properties with big shrub masses regularly do this sort of complete renovation/rejuvenation. Easy plants are Forsythia, Arrowwood Viburnum, shrubby Dogwood, Fragrant Honeysuckle, and all the ones that Wee mentioned above. Most Sumac can just be mown off.

Thanks both of you for all your feedback. I not get too reckless right now
Keith