Arctic Rose Bridal: Nearly 40 years in the wedding business

Arctic Rose Bridal has been assisting brides in the Valley find their perfect dress for almost 40 years. Providing an array of options and exclusive designs that can only be found in Alaska at Arctic Rose Bridal, this boutique has everything to make the process for making the best day of a woman’s life that much better.

“Seeing the bride find the dress that exemplifies who they are… Seeing that emotion, seeing that connection between the gown exemplifying that girl is just the most amazing thing, I love it.” Owner Tammy Gjosund said.

Arctic Rose Bridal was started by Diane Tresham in 1986. Tresham operated the boutique until retiring and selling the business to Gjosund in June of 2023. Gjosund explained that Tresham continues to mentor her, and was waiting for just the right person to pass the business along to.

Having enjoyed wedding dresses since childhood, Gjosund explained that she and her mother planned to purchase a bridal boutique in Alpena, Michigan where she grew up. After determining the business wouldn't be feasible, and then moving to Alaska and starting a family, Gjosund held on to that dream of operating a wedding boutique some day.

In May of 2023, as a senior class project for her bachelor’s degree in business management at Alaska Pacific University, Gjosund was tasked with “pretending to start a business. After working for almost 25 years in finance, Gjosund remembered her dream of one day owning a boutique.

“My mind instantly went to, ‘I’m going to pretend that I’m starting a bridal boutique,’” Gjosund said.

Gjosund was quickly introduced to Tresham and purchased the business from her a month later. Gjosund operated the business on the side for nearly a year before retiring from her job at Alaska Communications in March of 2024. The wedding business was taking off and she was too busy to continue working both jobs. She said she discussed the ultimatum with her husband, Louie.

“I’m not going to go halfway on one thing or the other, I’m going to be excellent at whatever I do,” Gjosund said.

Gjosund decided to pursue what would make her happy, and that was making other people happy. She now operates Arctic Rose Bridal with help from Louie, the facilities and operations manager, and her daughter, Whitney Hillman, who does all of their marketing.

The Gjosunds transformed the downstairs of their home into the boutique. Tammy explained that their house already had a very boutique feel, with crystal chandeliers and bridal themed decorations. Tammy explained that her customers enjoy the feel of the boutique and don’t want her to move to a more traditional storefront in town.

“This is exactly the atmosphere and the ambience that families want when they’re coming to get the bridal dress,” Tammy said.

The busy season for weddings, specifically wedding venues, occurs during the summer. Tammy said her busy times range from January through October. Many brides plan their weddings over a year in advance, and some of Tammy’s customers have already purchased their dresses for 2026.

“Wedding venues, that’s their busy time,” Tammy said. “My busy time is the months and months and months before when they buy their dress.”

Arctic Rose Bridal offers a variety of bridal gowns, mother-of-the-bride dresses, prom dresses, accessories, wedding dress preservation and more. The boutique also has partnerships with alterations businesses in the Valley.

Picking out a dress is one of the first steps Tammy suggests that all brides do when planning their wedding. The style and color of the dress will dictate the venue, theme and overall design of the ceremony. She said that it would be disappointing for customers to fall in love with a gown that doesn’t match the rest of their wedding.

“The wedding gown is so central… I tell people all the time, knock that out first,” Tammy said. “Then start planning your wedding.”

The day after the bride finds her perfect dress, Tammy suggests they call to make an appointment for alterations. Appointments should be scheduled for one month out from their wedding date. This not only allows for more precise sizing, but is also one less consideration brides have to worry about leading up to the big day.

Arctic Rose Bridal is different from many boutiques, in the fact that they carry a large inventory and variety of dresses in different sizes. Instead of waiting for their dress, many brides are able to walk out of Tammy’s boutique with their dress the same day.

“I do things differently because I’ve had so many brides that just want to go home with their dress,” Tammy said. “They just fell in love with their dress, they don't want to wait 15-20 weeks to order it. They want to take it home with them.”

The boutique takes appointments seven days per week, and stays open late to accommodate brides with a busy schedule. Appointments are scheduled for two hours, but sometimes go longer. Most people book through their website, finding a date and time slot that works for them. Brides will be asked to fill out a questionnaire that allows the team at Arctic Rose Bridal to prepare for the appointment.

“I want to be there when the customer needs me,” Tammy said.

Brides will sometimes visit the boutique multiple times, Tammy explained. Some come in by themselves at first to browse and get a feel for what they are looking for. On consecutive trips they will bring friends and family to help make a final decision on the dress. Tammy suggests keeping guests to a minimum.

“Bring a few people that are most important to you,” Tammy said. “People that will be open and honest with you, but also know that this is your choice as the bride. This is your one day to wear any dress that you’ve ever wanted to wear. There are no rules. That girl deserves to wear the dress of her dreams.”

Tammy reinforced the importance of brides making the wedding experience truly their own.

“There’s no rules,” Tammy said. “The bride is the center of attention. She can wear whatever she wants… This is your day, to be you, and to have the dress of your dreams, regardless of where you’re going to have the wedding.”

Arctic Rose Bridal has a growing customer base from Anchorage for their services. Tammy said she is honored to have brides visit the boutique from all over. She said that many people disregard the Valley as having such wonderful wedding options as it does.

“We’re here, we have a great experience, we love what we do and I’m super honored every time they come in my door,” Tammy said.”

And, what’s most important to Tammy, is making the wedding experience from start to end the best it can be for her brides.

“I do not want the bride or the family to be stressed out at all,” Tammy said. “Just as important to me selling the dress, is that in 20 years that family looks back at the time they spent in Arctic Rose and tells their grandkids and kids, ‘we had the best time and experience at Arctic Rose. We were treated like royalty, we were not rushed, there was no pressure. It was just a fabulous time.’ That's what I want when they walk away.”