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  1. Wedding Fairs in Cheshire, February 2017

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    Following on to my post on January wedding fairs in the Cheshire area, here's the February list: 

    4-5th February 2017 - Bride: The Wedding Show, Tatton Park, Knutsford, 10am - 5pm, £10 advanced ticket or £15 on the day

    12th February 2017 - Crewe Hall Wedding Open Day, Crewe, 11:30am - 3:30pm, 01270253333

    12th February 2017 - Cheshire Wedding Fayre, MacDonald Craxton Wood Hotel and Spa, Chester, 12noon - 4pm, Red Event, catwalks at 1:30pm and 3pm

    19th February 2017 - Rookery Hall Showcase Day, Nantwich, 10-4pm, 01270610016

    19th February 2017 - The Park Royal Open Day, Stretton, 11am - 3pm, 01925730706

    19th February 2017 - Designer Asian Wedding Fair, Thornton Manor, Thornton Hough, 11am - 6pm, 01513531155, catwalks at 12noon and 4pm

    26th February 2017 - Designer Wedding Fair, Thornton Manor, Thornton Hough, 11am - 6pm, 01513531155, catwalks at 12noon and 4pm, £5

  2. Wedding Fairs in Cheshire, January 2017

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    December is the most popular month for engagements, says most of the wedding surveys out there. A huge congratulations to you if you've just been recently engaged over the festive period! It so happens that January and February are generally heaving with wedding fairs - perfect for getting inspiration, making some contacts, and taking that first step towards committing to that big day. Here's a list of January wedding fairs and open days in Cheshire, for those of you in the area:

    5th January 2017 - Grosvenor Chester Wedding Open Evening, Chester, 4:30pm - 8pm, 01244324024

    7th January 2017 - The Park Royal Open Day, Stretton, 11am - 3pm, 01925730706

    7th - 8th January 2017 - Carden Park Wedding Open Weekend, 11am - 4pm, RSVP event, includes a private show round, 01829731506

    8th January 2017 - Rossett Hall Wedding Showcase Day, Rossett,, 11am - 3pm, 01244571000

    8th January 2017 - Capesthorne Hall Wedding Open Day, Macclesfield, 12noon - 4pm, 01625861221

    8th January 2017 - Crewe Hall Wedding Open Day, Crewe, 11:30am - 3:30pm, 01270253333

    8th January 2017 - Rookery Hall Wedding Fair, Nantwich, 12-4pm, County Brides, 01942206446, Catwalk Shows at 1pm and 3pm

    8th January 2017 - Wychwood Park Wedding Fair, Crewe, 01270829222, 11am - 3pm, KeeDays, Catwalk Shows at 12noon and 2pm    

    8th January 2017 - Sandhole Oak Barn Open Day, Congleton, 12-4pm, 01260540007, Wedding ceremony showcase at 2:30pm

    8th January 2017 - Oak Tree of Peover Wedding Fair, Knutsford, 12-4:30pm, 01656723337

    10th January 2017 - Thornton Manor Open Evening, Thornton Hough, 5-9pm, 01513531155

    11th January 2017 - Wedding Taster Evening, Crewe Hall, Crewe, 01270253333

    19th January 2017 - Capesthorne Hall Open Evening, Macclesfield, 5:30pm - 9pm, 01625861221

    22nd January 2017 - Willington Hall Wedding Fayre, Tarporley, 11am-3pm, KeeDays, 07738058656

    22nd January 2017 - Vale Royal Abbey New Year Wedding Showcase, Northwich, 11am - 4pm, 01606301291

    22nd January 2017 - Shrigley Hall Hotel Wedding Fayre, 11:30am - 3:30pm, County Brides, 01942206446. Catwalks at 12:30pm and 2:30pm

    22nd January 2017 - Rookery Hall Showcase Day, Nantwich, 10:00am - 4pm, 01270610016

    29th January 2017 - The Cheshire Vintage Wedding Fair, Chester Racecourse, 10am-4pm, Decorative Fairs, 01516538606, £3

    29th January 2017 - Capesthorne Hall Wedding Fair, Macclesfield, 01625861221, 11am-3pm, Brides Up North Wedding Fairs, 

    29th January 2017 - Winter Wedding Fayre, Crewe Hall, Crewe, Country Brides, 11:30am-4pm, 01270253333. Includes a wedding ceremony rehearsal at 2pm, catwalks at 1pm and 3pm. 

  3. Choosing your Wedding Colours - Ever Wondered what Each Colour Means?

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    Early this month, I wrote about how to add a bit (or a lot) of colour in  your wedding outfit, whether it is in the form of accessories, or in your dress itself. While writing up that blog, I met the lovely Chrisoula Sirigou, the Golden Muse, from Explorama, at a Bizmums networking meeting in Nantwich. Chrisoula is a colour psychologist, colour analyst, Colour Mirrors practitioner, teacher of the language and psychology of colour. At the meeting, she brought with her a few coloured bottles and when I went over to see her, she asked me to pick the one which appealed most. I did, and when she explained to me what it meant, it was rather quite spot on to what is going on in my life at the moment.

    The colours that attracted me most then reflected my life situation. It makes sense that if you're happy you're going to pick happy colours, and vice versa. But as well as them being a way to mirror yourself, I also believed that some colours conveyed certain meanings and may therefore have subtle influences in a wedding. I decided then to have a more in-depth discussion with Chrisoula to see if I could follow on to my previous blog with one which give an indication of what colours could mean.

    You can view my whole interview with Chrisoula here on YouTube, but here's a very short summary in this blog. Over nearly an hour, we covered the meaning of some key and popular colours, what some of the colour combinations from 2017/2018 wedding trends evoke, discussed some of Chrisoula's colour combination recommendations, and finished off with some advice for future brides, future grooms and couples. 

    If you're in the process of picking your wedding colours and are undecisive, perhaps some of this may sway you one way or another! And if you don't know where to start, why not have a look at Chrisoula's suggestions first. 

    Popular Single Wedding Colours 

    Red: Associated with true passion, not love, real passion, also brings in safety and security, the feeling of being rooted and connected.

    Pink: A soft colour with a red base and a bit of yellow. Not as passionate as red, but provides a sense of unconditional love. Pink is a beautiful colour for a wedding and is also a way to show that you care for others, through romance, but also in a mothering way. Guests feel nurtured and welcome with this colour. 

    Purple: Has elements of violet and magenta, and says "I can have heaven on earth", or "I can have it all". You are here to enjoy everything and deserve everything in your life. 

    Gold or Silver: Have some of the strongest vibration energies of all colours, connecting you to your higher self, and bring out your authentic self. Gold is also the colour of prosperity. 

    Selected Wedding Colour Trends 2017/2018 - Combinations (source: Wedding Design Chic)

    Turquoise and Lemon, Teal and Lemon Wedding Colour trends 2017 2018  Blush pink and gold wedding colour, Wedding Design Chic, 2017 2018  

    Quartz rose and serenity lilac blue, wedding colour trend 2017 2018, colour palette, wedding design chic  Turquoise and coral, orange, wedding colours 2017 2018 wedding trend, wedding design chic

    Turquoise and Lemon (Teal and Lemon): Turquoise and teal indicate heart-felt communication, connecting from your heart and expressing yourself from your heart. This colour brings flow to the wedding, while the lemon yellow colour is synonymous with joy. 

    Blush Pink and Gold: A very soft but powerful combination. The blush pink has a coral base, and coral is the colour of expansion, blessing the wedding with growth in life, love and of course family. Combined with the gold, this expansion is further enhanced, as gold brings the element of prosperity. From a personal perspective, coral says "I am loving myself as I am", and gold brings your authentic self out. 

    Rose Quartz and Serenity: Here we are bringing together the feminine (pink) and the masculine (blue). Serenity, which is similar to lilac blue and platinum, gives a sense of being impeccable with what you're saying, of walking the talk. It bring an element of authority, a confirmation that you are ready to do this, that you want to go ahead and be together. The rose conveys the message mentioned above about pink - the loving side, unconditional love and romance.

    Turquoise and Coral: A better combination, in Chrisoula's view than turquoise and lemon as they are complementary. Heart-felt communication whilst expressing your love, and accepting yourself as you are. And of course we must not forget that coral is also the colour of expansion, which is always great in many aspects in the context of weddings and bringing together two people in love.

    Suggestions of a Colour Psychologist! 

    Colour is obviously such a personal choice, and at the end of the day, as Chrisoula advises (and as I think too), weddings are all about yourselves as a couple and as individuals, not about what other people think, like, or their expectations. Nevertheless, for some inspiration, here are some great combinations from Colour Mirrors that Chrisoula loves and recommends, and why: 

    Magenta and olive colour mirrorsMagenta and Olive (or Lime): Complementary colours in the spectrum. Magenta, which contains a lot of red and a bit of violet, has ingredients of passion, connecting with everyone, and wanting everyone to be involved. Olive is the colour of feminine essence, and the two work beautifully together, with accents of other colours such as ivory. This combination is called Love, Money and Creativity in the Colour Mirror range. 

    serenity and olive, lilac and olive, colour mirrorSerenity and Olive: As mentioned above, olive equates to the feminine essence and brings out the feminine side, and serenity (blue lilac / platinum) actually brings out the masculine element, the two balancing each other beautifully. 

    gold magenta colour mirrorMagenta and Gold: Here, the passion and connection with everyone is supplemented with the prosperity of the gold colour. 

    Silver and coral, pink, Colour mirrors tree of loveSilver and Rose Pink: Bringing in the coral pink here in this combination, the colours are blessing your day with expansion in life, love, family, etc., while the silver connects you to your higher self. This combination is called the Tree of Love!  

    And Some Final Words of Wisdom

    Our interview ended with me asking Chrisoula her advice for couples who are planning their wedding. A wedding "is an experience, and you want to feel special on the day, and afterwards, but equally, you want your guests to have a memorable day too..." Her advice was "...to create that space, to not get into a rush, to take your time, to feel into it..." 

    Chrisoula Sirigou Golden Muse ExploramaThank you to Chrisoula Sirigou for her time to discuss the meaning of colours in the context of weddings. Find out more about her expertise and current activities here. If you would like to contact her to discuss more, or to help you in your decisions, her email address is: [email protected]. Chrisoula offers Colour Consultations and Colour Vision readings in person and online. 

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    Blue Lily Magnolia makes bespoke and unique bridal accessories, including wedding belts and sashes, headpieces, keepsake bouquets, corsages, boutonnieres, etc. To have a browse at some of the designs, click here

    Images: The moodboards are from Wedding Design Chic, images of the coloured bottles are from the Colour Mirrors website, and Chrisoula's photo is courtesy of Chrisoula herself.