Hero Widget displays poorly while loading

Using the Hero widget in the opening row of a site, the second row (in this case a Livemesh Services widget) displays first and for some time, while the Hero widget row loads, often displaying the background image at Standard size prior to going to Full Width Stretched. I don’t want to see these mechanics, it looks clunky and unprofessional.

What’s the best way to hold the screen blank while Hero preloads? I don’t really want an off the shelf preloader wheel. It doesn’t take that long, I just don’t want the Services section displaying first then being bumped as Hero builds.

John