I went to Leno's because of the Yelp reviews and it was close to work. Oh ya, and I wanted to marry my girlfriend before she ever got an idea about finding someone better than me. That's a difficult thing to bring up to her about without a ring.
I kind of knew what I wanted, and knew my budget, but was absolutely clueless beyond that. What I wanted was for someone to help me along the way, and not just have a salesperson peddle me the the most expensive ring they could get away with.
First step was fruitless because I found out Marie was available by appointment only. The ladies at the store were really nice about it, and I made an appointment. But it also set me at ease knowing that there wasn't some salesperson there waiting to sell me something.
Marie was a delight to deal with. She's a tiny human being, but don't let that fool you, she's a big help. I think I was in and out of there 5 times over 4 weeks before making my choice. She spent a lot of time with me, googling the kinds of rings I wanted ("oh, I can make you anything on here that you want" she happily said), talking prices, telling me what girls like, describing diamonds, ordering in several diamonds for me to look at (and reject), laughing at my jokes (bonus points) and being very patient and honest. At no time did I feel like I was being sold anything, and at no point did she try to up-sell me or shame me about my budget. Although she did point out to me that girls tend to like bigger diamonds. Duh.
Anyway, I proposed at the top of a mountain, my girlfriend became my fiance, loved the ring, and we went in together for the wedding bands. My fiance hit it off with Marie right away, and I luckily took a back seat to all further ring negotiations. Score! We now have wedding bands and we're all happy. While not likely part of her normal services, she helped my fiance find a job in Calgary :). Super bonus points for the increased household income!!
If you're looking for an engagement ring, or any kind of jewelry, you should make an appointment with Marie! read more