HOT TOPIC: wedding worries Our experts solve your problems HELLO PETAL I’m thinking of having my wedding flowers preserved. Are there any flowers I should avoid, and how long after the wedding should I send them to the artist? Waxy flowers like orchids and lilies can be tricky to preserve as they quite often lose colour. If this happens, they can be colour corrected, so they don’t need to be completely avoided, just don’t have an entire bouquet of them – mix it up a bit! Texture and colour are everything when it comes to floral preservation, so keep this in mind when planning your wedding flowers with your florist. It’s best to send your blooms to your preservation artist within two to three days after the wedding. Depending on where your preservationist is based in relation to you, you can either drop them off in person or post them. You should be provided with instructions on how best to package and ship your flowers, and some suppliers will also send you tips on keeping your bouquet looking amazing on your wedding day. Ronni Jones www.suspendedpetals.co.uk RING-A-DING-DING My hubby-to-be and I recently got engaged; how can we take an Instagramworthy engagement photo? With engagement announcements showing up all over social media, couples may be feeling the pressure to take that perfect engagement ring photo to share with family and friends. Sharing the news via social media is a quick and easy way of telling your loved ones the news without having to individually call everyone, which can be overwhelming and time-consuming. With couples feeling on cloud nine after getting engaged, it’s tempting to grab hold of the phone, put the flash on, and take a quick photo to send around. However, using artificial light can lead to blurred, unnatural images that won’t capture the beautiful characteristics of the engagement ring while also making the ring look flat. Instead, opt for diffused natural light to help you produce a great-looking photo. A mixture of hard and soft light can also be extremely beneficial to show off the gorgeous diamond. Backgrounds can pose a challenge, as you might find yourself in a breathtaking setting that you want to feature in your photo, or you could be facing a plain, ordinary wall. Both can serve as suitable backgrounds, but it’s essential to ensure they don’t overshadow the main attraction: the ring. You can’t go wrong with a minimal background, because anything too busy will take the importance off the main part of the image. I would personally always use a slightly darker background to make the hand and ring pop. It’s also important to choose a background that reminds you of where the engagement took place, so you can look back on the picture and feel everything you felt on that special day. Tom Bennett and Karolina Bajda www.instagram.com/_tbennett and www.instagram.com/karolinabajda EXPERT ADVICE 53
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