Yellowknife (Feb 19/03) - Let's be clear, rummaging through your closet for something to wear the day before your wedding simply will not do.

Like sending out the invitations, hiring a photographer, and booking a hall for the wedding feast, finding the right bridal gown and tuxedo takes a little planning.

Unfortunately, most women must look southward to find a wedding dress. There are currently no stores in town catering to future brides-to-be in the hunt for a white satin and veil bridal gown.

Again, time is of the essence.

"You need a good five to six months if you need any alterations," says Tammy Tews, with Calista's Career and Bridal in Grand Prairie, Alta. "Also matching up any accessories, headpieces, veils, getting your girl's (bridesmaid) dresses here."

A wedding dress from Calista's ranges anywhere from $175 for a simple "beach" type dress to $1,365 for the full bridal gown and train.

There is at least one option available locally for potential brides who wish to stick to a Northern theme and avoid the long trip south.

Whispering Willows has been open for five years and specializes in traditional Dene clothing. It's located right here in Yellowknife, downtown at the Igloo Plaza.

Owner Karen Wright-Fraser says she can make a deerhide wedding or graduation dress with beadwork in about three weeks. Her dresses range in price from $800 to $2,000.

Wright-Fraser says she finds the dresses popular with both aboriginal and non-aboriginal brides.

"It's (for anyone) who lives a certain lifestyle or believe in native spirituality," says Wright-Fraser. "The lady who is wearing it, it makes her feel really good and proud."

Right on the button

The groom-to-be will likely have an easier time finding something to wear in Yellowknife. Most can do well by simply renting a tuxedo through For Men Only.

The store's wedding co-ordinator, Jason Perrino, says it's all in the buttons.

"If you're a very tall, slender guy you want to get a five-button tux, if you're regular statured you want to go for the three-button tux, and if you're a stout guy you want to go for a one-button tux," says Perrino.

This year, tuxedo rentals are running at about $160 per day, minus the top hat, gloves, and cummerbund.

While arrangements for tuxedo rentals don't take as long as ordering a wedding dress, it shouldn't be left to the last minute either. Tuxedos are ordered in from Toronto and take at least a week to get here.

"We tell people to do it two weeks ahead of time," says Perrino. "Some people will come in the day before their wedding asking, 'oh ya, I need a tuxedo,' and we're like, 'well no, we can't.'"