that black & white cat weddings - our story

The Story behind the 'No Ordinary wedding'

about

Hi there. I’m Linzi – no ordinary wedding planner, designer & stylist here at ‘that black & white cat’. Creator of wedding gorgeousness and I confess that I am mad about all things wedding (oh and cats…and alpacas…!).

I really believe that embracing your personalities as a couple will create an original and unique wedding day. Because why would you want your wedding to be the same as your other friends? This can be the tiniest touch to a fully styled wedding. I want you to have a wedding day you’ll remember for the rest of your life. A wedding which is all about you!

Outdoor and individual weddings are my specialty. My passion is being unique and its taken me years to find it myself. I don’t want to be limited by any ceilings and I certainly reflect that in my weddings. I’m that wingman you want on your side!

this could get embarrasing...

confessions

Please don’t fall asleep at this point but my career before becoming a wedding planner I was a chartered accountant (and still am officially!) within a number of FTSE 100 large corporate retail businesses. I spent over 15 years as a professional Head of Finance – budgeting, planning, negotiating, influencing, and, of course, using the obligatory spreadsheets. I know first hand what its like to be planning your wedding whilst working long intensive days in a professional career – I’ve done it myself! Oh and I’m definitely good with a spreadie!

Why did I leave accountancy? Honest answer – I’d had enough of being in the ‘rat race’ and wanted to embrace my passion – do something which I would really enjoy (and not be sat behind a desk every day!). I’d also lost my mum to MS and it made me realise there was more to life that a 9-5 job. I wanted to get out there and help other people! I met Seb (Mr TBWC), he encouraged me to pursue it further! Next thing we’d registered the company name and we were out of the starting gates!

I trained with the UK Alliance of Wedding Planners (UKAWP) before I set up the business. I’m a big believer in their principle of not allowing commissions in the wedding industry – a planner should work to get our couples the best price possible and give any savings obtained direct to you. If you come on board with me, you agree one fee for my services and that’s it. Nice and simple!

why 'that black & white cat'

sooty

We really struggled with a business name when we were setting everything up. And then Sooty provided us with the perfect inspiration.

I often get asked when we chose ‘that black & white cat weddings’. Quite simple – it’s different! It stands out! You remember us. And this little guy was such a character he definitely deserved having a company named after him. It was a lot of fun creating the logo and our famous, catpersand, icon!

Sooty passed away in August 2020 (Yes I’m crying right now). He’d been with me for nearly 14 years through so many ups and downs. I was thankful with the whole COVID thing that I got to spend a whole summer with him sitting by me on the desk! He was one of a kind and ‘that black & white cat’ weddings is definitely here stay in his memory! Love you so much litte guy!

introductions ...

meet the team

When you book your wedding with us, I’ll be your main contact throughout. However, I am fortunate to have a great support team working with me to deliver your wedding day. Seb is my other half, the tech guy and helps me out with all the technical questions behind delivery weddings. Tori helps out ‘On the Day’ and behind the scenes with our social media.

We only do about ten to fifteen weddings a year so they get our full attention (it takes a lot of hours to plan a wedding!) and we never have more than one wedding on the same day/weekend. Once our capacity is booked up, it’s gone! So don’t take too long to decide as I hate to tell couples that we are already booked on their date.

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shout out to seb

Seb is my partner and rock – in fact, he’s pretty awesome! I can’t thank him enough for supporting me on my journey to create what you see here today. With over 20 years of audio visual experience working in theatre, television and entertainment, he is often there to assist on the more technical delivery aspects. He also helps with on the day support if I need an extra pair of hands.

Sooty (see above), Betty and Charley are our three cats and I love them to bits. They occasionally help out and if you want to meet them just let me know (though I can’t always guarantee they’ll appear!).

random fun facts

Here you go!

I’m a trained classical violinist & have traveled Europe with an orchestra when i was younger
I’ve walked the Inca Trail in Peru
I am a stationery addict
I’m mad about our cats! (of course!)
I LOVE alpacas!
Oh and Flamingoes!
Live music especially a good festival! We managed to get tickets to Glastonbury a few years ago and I can’t wait to go back again. Seb will tell you my music taste is
Anything colourful – I constantly dye my hair different colours (never too mad but its currently a rose pink colour). It also helps get rid of the grey hairs which i’ve had since the age of 16

What do I dislike

Having my photo taken
Brussel Sprouts
Scary Movies (I’m a total wimp!)