Engagement Story (Part 1)

Wade & I had discussed getting married. We knew we would get married, it was just a matter of when. Eventually, we started looking at rings for a few months, on-and-off, by popping into a jewellery store every now and then. We started off looking at the mainstream chains. I liked very little of what I saw of these rings, but I found a couple that I liked at Charm. We kept looking, but there isn't exactly

Then we started looking at small jewellers in the area. We had heard good things about one well-known local jeweller so we went downtown. This is the kind of store where the owner is on-site. We had many questions, and he was very enthusiastic in showing off his custom work and answering our questions. We were in the middle of asking a question when another customer entered the store. The owner excused himself, explaining that he would only be a moment because this customer was just picking up a custom-made ring. However, the owner and the customer proceeded to discuss the features of the ring for several minutes. I think the customer was a doctor, that cocky kind of doctor that no one wants to see in the emergency room (and none of the nurses or other staff want to work with). But I digress.

When the owner finally returned to us over five minutes later (for something that would only take a moment), we finished up our conversation and left. The owner encouraged us to look around, because he was sure we wouldn't find anything better. When we left, I told Wade that even though his rings were gorgeous, he was rude. But, if his rings were the best ...

We decided since we were downtown, we should take his advice and look around.

The next place we went to was another small locally owned and operated store. Neither of us had heard of it, but it was charming. The lady working there was so helpful. Her eyes did not light up when we told her what we were looking for. (If you've ever been shopping for an engagement ring, you know the look.) She was kind, showed us their collection (from several designers, as well as from the owner), modify existing pieces, or completely design something for us. She answered our questions, showed off their existing jewellery, and made us feel truly welcome. We never felt the same "salesmanship" we felt from the previous jewellery store.

We continued on our trek to one more jeweller. This place was another small, individually-owned jeweller. Two ladies appeared to be working there, and the lady who helped us was very friendly. And there was a sale, with almost the exact ring that I wanted. However, when we said we weren't purchasing that day, we got the subtle sales pressure. The sale was ending very soon (in fact, at that point, we noticed the sign actually said the sale was ending that day) and we shouldn't pass up such a great sale.

So we left.

There was lots to think about.