Ashley’s Trend Report: Ring Selfies, Trend or Fad?

Here at Forever Bride, we get tagged in so many wedding related moments (as you can imagine). From
your partner down on their knee asking you THE most important question to cake tasting to
engagement pictures. While I love scrolling through all of the ones you guys share with us, my personal
favorite has to be the gorgeous ring selfies. Like this one below!

Lately, I’ve seen so many #ringselfie pictures popping up and, I have to admit that at first, I wondered if
it was a fad”¦but, it’s been around for a few years! Now, I can confidently say that yes, ring selfies are
still a thing and I want you guys to keep them coming! To help you do that, I’m going to share 15 tips,
both what to do and what not to do, to nail (pun intended) the perfect #ringselfie.

What Not to Do
I’m one of those girls that likes to hear the bad news before the good news, so I thought I’d start out
with my tips on what not to do.

#1. Don’t tell Facebook first!
This day in age, with everybody sharing literally everything on social media, I had to start out by
reminding you that you shouldn’t tell Facebook or Instagram first. Your mom and best friend do NOT
want to find out by scrolling through their feeds. Hopefully you all already knew this tip, but it’s
imperative to remember the rule of three. First, enjoy the moment with your hunny. Next, tell your
close loved ones (yes, your bestie falls into this group). And last, tell the world!

#2 Avoid a social media takeover
I’m sure you all have had “friends” on Facebook or Instagram fall prey to this one”¦ you don’t want to be that girl that is clogging timelines and news feeds with picture after picture of #ringselfies. A pic or two is totally fine, don’t get me wrong, everyone is so excited for you and definitely wants to see what the new bling looks like, but try to not over do it!

And when you do share your #ringselfie, be sure to tag us @foreverbride and #foreverbride because like
I said earlier, they’re my favorite pics!

#3 Overload on props
If you’d rather not have you or your new fiancé’s face in your ring selfie, one common way we see them
done is by doing a flat lay. Not quite sure what a flat lay is? It’s when you showcase something
awesome, ahem your bling, surrounded by a few other items flat on a surface like your desk, table, etc.
But, if you’re trying to get the perfect flat lay with your hand on your laptop or your ring sitting perfectly
surrounded by random trinkets”¦take a deep breath and pause! You might be overthinking it. You don’t
want your photo to look too staged or overly propped. I mean come on, you’re taking a photo of a
perfect and gorgeous ring! Let it do the talking!

#4 Talk numbers
Take Jessie J’s advice and forget about the price tags! There is no need to drop hints on how much the
love of your life spent on you! That is between him and you, not you and your friends or followers. So,
keep the box it came in out of the picture. Bragging is just tacky! And incase you were wondering, Royal Hart Studio took that picture above. Amazing,
right? Mention Forever Bride to receive free prints of your wedding!

#5 Keep it all about you
You just got ENGAGED! To the love of your life! Make sure you include your man in your picture or give
him a shout out in the caption. It’s so cute to
see the reaction of the man who just put his heart on the line for you!

#6 Collages are so 2005
I don’t even know where to begin with this one! Let me preface this with, I know how excited you are
and how much you love your ring, but please do not collage it! Why? I have a few reasons. The first
being, we’re not in the early 2000’s anymore. It will also make you look a little too obsessed with your
ring, and most importantly, it takes away from the simple beauty and boldness of your new ring!

#7 Instagram filters
My last bit of advice on what not to do. It’s pretty plain and simple, do not add a filter. They will take away
from the beauty of your ring. Valencia, no. Nashville, no. *Insert any Insta filter here* no. See the picture above? So cute, right?! It looks like all they did was contrasted a bit and maybe added some saturation – more on that later (tip #14)! Keep scrolling.

What to Do
Alright, now that we got what not to do out of the way, we can move on to 8 tips of how to execute the
best #ringselfie.

#8 Check your surroundings
Is that a dirty pair of pants laying on the ground in the corner of the picture? Or an empty water bottle?
Are you outside and didn’t catch the dog poop that is in the background…yikes! Check what is around
you before you start shooting, you don’t want people distracted by what’s in your surroundings.

#9 Don’t overthink it
I feel you! I know you want to share it on social media so so so badly, so don’t spend hours trying to
make it look perfect. Grab your new “Does this ring make me look engaged?” mug that your bestie got
you or a glass of champagne, whatever floats your boat and get that picture!
This tip goes hand in hand with Tip #3 – these ring selfies don’t require marble floors or palm trees in
the background. Work with what you’ve got! My personal favorite is grabbing your soon to be hubby’s
face and giving him a sweet kiss while you snap the pic.

#10 No better time for a mani/pedi
Girl it’s time to treat yourself! Go get a manicure and splurge and get a really fun paraffin wax hand treatment to
pamper and primp your hand for the perfect ring selfie. You deserve it. BUT if you don’t have time for
that, or if your mom or girlfriends weren’t able to get you to the salon ahead of the proposal, put some
lotion on and maybe opt for a hand holding shot with your fiancé instead of a direct shot of your hand.
You might not notice your hangnails or your chipped nail polish, but unfortunately, other people will!

Don’t you love the detail Steena Anne Photography captures? She is beyond talented!

#11 Lighting is everything
That hunk of a beauty on your left hand is going to shine it’s best in natural lighting, so do what you can
to be close to a window and let it shine!

Photo above from our very own Forever Bride tribe member, Elizabeth Moriarty Photography!

#12 Focus on the ring
Turns out, you might not be a professional photographer or have one around when you get engaged and
guess what, that’s okay! Use your phone! A little concerned on how to properly focus? Two tips, don’t
zoom in and use the focus feature. If you want a close up, either get closer or crop it later! To get an
even better picture, tap the screen to focus your lens on your ring while you take the picture!

Brett & Janelle Photography is killin’ it as always!

#13 “What is my hand doing?”
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve asked myself this while trying to take a cute picture. So, here’s my
tip! Relax your hand. Sounds simple, right? But I totally know it’s hard to do, try resting it on your man’s
arm or grab a prop, like your Starbucks or a clutch. Then, tilt your hand or your camera slightly, so you’re
not shooting straight on.

#14 Retouch
I know I just said do not add a filter, and I promise I’m not going back against my word! Retouching is
different. Use an editing app, like VSCO Cam or Afterlight (we’ve heard from professional photographs
that they use this for some of their iPhone photos!) to adjust the contrast, the brightness, and the
saturation.

#15 Captioning It
I’ve been there, the struggle is REAL when making a caption. But this is the time to go with your heart
and be as cheesy as you want to be. I know a lot of people skim captions if they’re too long (guilty as
charged), but this is one of those times when more words are better. Share how you’re really feeling,
did you see it coming? Was he nervous? A few emojis won’t suffice, pour out your heart, we all want to
bask in your love!

I hope these 15 tips help you guys feel great about snapping a #ringselfie! Make sure you tag
@foreverbride and #foreverbride.