POULSBO — North Kitsap brides-to-be usually have to do some serious traveling to find the perfect gown.

Unless, that is, they visit American Rose Bridal.

The new storefront in the Plaza 305 complex off State Route 305, just a few doors down from the Department of Licensing, opened in February. It offers local brides a smaller, more personable and yet helpful alternative to traveling to Silverdale, Port Orchard, Seattle, Tacoma or beyond.

“The people who have found out about us seem really happy,” owner Lynanne White said of her shop. “I hear all the time, ‘It’s so nice to have a place in North Kitsap.’”

White, a 13-year Poulsbo resident, began working with wedding dresses in 1985 as a seamstress sewing the garments for fun. Three years later, she began sewing bridal gowns and pageant wear professionally, which led naturally to her first steps into the resale business.

“I found it’s a lot less expensive just to buy them and resell them than to make them, especially with a lot of the beading today,” White said.

White was selling dresses from her home until the Kitsap Wedding Expo’s sale this year. She joked that she didn’t want to haul them all back up to their second-floor storage area so she decided to open a shop instead.

American Rose Bridal caters to time- and budget-crunched brides. Every dress White carries costs $300 or less, compared to the average $800 and higher price tag. Most selections are also off the rack, saving the waiting time possible at other stores. Walk-in customers are welcome but White recommends shoppers to call ahead so the helpful and attentive staff can make themselves and a private dressing room available.

“It’s just fun,” White said of what she enjoys about selling wedding dresses. “Little girls dream of their wedding and what their gowns will look like. It’s fun to come play with the dresses every day.”

Besides stunning wedding gowns, American Rose also carries all the pieces for the perfect bridal wardrobe, including undergarments, shoes, veils, tiaras and jewelry. Accessories like ring bearer pillows, flower girl baskets and cake servers are also available along with flower girl dresses and bridesmaid dresses. Tuxedos will soon be added to the lineup.

“They can take care of a lot of things in one place,” White said of the selection. “Plus, everything’s fairly priced. I’m not going to charge a lot just because it’s for a wedding.”

To further help brides prepare for their big day, American Rose features a wedding library that is free to customers. The secluded room is furnished with reference books on a variety of wedding topics; bridal magazines; a computer with free Internet access; a television with DVD, video and stereo for previewing videographers and band music samples; a telephone; and an ever-growing selection of cards, brochures, rate cards and menus from local wedding vendors.

“They’ll be able to do a lot of the shopping here instead of having to go all over and visit all these places,” White said.

American Rose Bridal also carries a large selection of christening dresses, special occasion dresses and prom dresses. And as with her wedding dresses, White said customers will find her other dresses have a special touch coming from a hometown store.

“I won’t carry more than two prom dresses in the same style and then they’ll be different colors and different sizes so the girls won’t end up with the same dresses at prom,” she explained.