BYLEI on the art of a remarkable event

An event that works begins, according to Lei and Lennart Willems, with listening. With BYLEI they organise and design events that are personal, refined and, as Lei puts it themselves, "damn good". From weddings in Marrakesh to corporate anniversaries for hundreds of guests. Where others turn left, they prefer to see what there is to discover on the right. MASTERS speaks with the two entrepreneurs about giving 120 percent, pioneering and why anything less than a nine simply will not do.

How did BYLEI come about and how did you eventually start working together?

Lei: "I started more than thirty years ago. I worked for a number of companies, but quickly realized that when everyone wanted to go left, I still thought going right could be interesting. So I went right and started my own business.

Initially I mainly did marketing activities for local associations and hospitality businesses. Later that evolved into a specialization in exclusive events. We also pioneered a lot and started pop-up venues. Lennart joined us at one of those locations in 2013."

Lennart: "I worked there for a number of years. After that I ended up at Bijenkorf, where I eventually became menswear manager in Eindhoven. From there Lei came up with the idea to build something together again."

Lei: "That's when we started the location in Eindhoven where we are now. We combined the event bureau with interior design, styling and a retail function. Eventually the events got bigger and bigger. We let go of the retail side, but styling and design remained. That's essentially where we are now."

And what does BYLEI stand for today? What exactly do you do?

Lei: "We actually have two businesses that complement each other. With BYLEI we organize exclusive events. We also have the studio, where we handle the design for our own events, but also for third parties. That ranges from interior design and styling to stand design and construction.

We work basically as a team of two, with a large group of specialists around us. Depending on the assignment we bring in specialists in areas such as communication, web development and floristry. That way we assemble the right team for each event."

What kind of events do you organize?

Lei: "On the business side it's mainly anniversaries, company parties and business openings, but also product presentations or car launches. A conference with a thousand people in a room is not where our added value lies.

For private events we focus on special moments in someone's life. Think of a wedding, a fiftieth or sixtieth birthday, a wedding anniversary or simply celebrating life. We do this both in the Netherlands and abroad."

Do you secretly have a favorite among all those different events?

Lei: "We really enjoy the diversity, because everyone wants something different. Ultimately it doesn't matter whether you make twenty people cry or laugh, or a thousand. You create something for someone that makes them happy and leaves them with a special memory. That's really the most beautiful thing to create."

Where do you see that typical BYLEI signature?

Lei: "In the hospitality and the finesse in the details. You should feel seen as a guest and essentially not have to think about anything. From the moment you arrive, everything must be right.

It's a bit like a Michelin-starred restaurant: from the first moment you're taken along in the whole story. Even a grumpy parking attendant can make the difference."

''Many companies or people think an eight is good. I don't think an eight is good at all''

Where do you complement each other best?

Lennart: "That actually developed very naturally. Lei has more than thirty years of experience and mainly outlines the business and project side. I'm often the one who then looks for the special execution.

If we need unique entertainment, for example, I will source it. The same applies to a destination wedding. You can always marry in a well-known hotel, but perhaps there is a wonderful location somewhere on a mountain that no one has ever been to. I enjoy finding those kinds of spots. Lei then looks at how we can create the complete picture at such a location."

Lei likes to go right when everyone else goes left. Lennart, do you always just go along with that?

Lennart: "Lei has a very creative mind and I can follow him quite far. But at some point I do reach a moment where I think: okay, but is it also realistic?

Many things can be conceived and built, but it also needs to be financially feasible. So I am the one who tries to set some boundaries now and then. Though we still often end up going right, where most people go left."

Suppose you knock on my door tomorrow for an event with two hundred guests. Where do you start?

Lei: "By sitting down together, preferably in person. Then we really have a thousand questions. What is the event for? Is there an objective behind it? What are the wishes, the programme and the timings? And of course the budget.

We also want to know what someone specifically does not want. The clearer we have the wishes, preferences and deal-breakers in view, the better we can create an initial design. Nine times out of ten, that first design, apart from a few points, is also the final design. Precisely because we listen so carefully at the beginning."

You work with many different people and suppliers. How do you ensure that quality remains consistent everywhere?

Lei: "Our foundation is that we want to be damn good. And damn good for us is 120 percent. A client often has an expectation of 100 percent and we actually want to be 20 percent better. So if we make a mistake, we are still better than what the client expects to receive.

Many companies or people think an eight is good. I do not think an eight is good at all. Then you are essentially admitting that you are allowed to make two mistakes. We believe you actually need to be a ten to at least meet the expectation.

That is why we also work with a fixed group of people around us. We know what they can do and they know our way of working. This is how we try to ensure that the quality we promise to a client actually comes through everywhere."

You are always present at an event yourselves. Why is that so important?

Lennart: "We do all conversations together, or at least try to. But we are also always present at the event. With a wedding you usually have a trajectory of a year with a couple. In that time we have the nice conversations, but also the difficult ones. Choices have to be made and you discover backgrounds about why certain lives have unfolded the way they have.

We take that with us into the event and can actually bring it to life during the event. We try to go one step further from the first conversations onwards."

Marrakesh has become an important destination for you. What did you see there that others perhaps had not yet seen?

Lei: "We discovered Marrakesh as a really great environment where you can realise even more special events. Many people look at Southern Europe, where a lot already happens. We essentially say: fly a bit further and you have something magical.

It is at the same time a city where much happens behind walls. On the outside you often do not see how beautiful the other side can be. We have been there quite often by now, discovered special spots and work together locally there. That is what makes it interesting for us."

What makes Marrakesh more interesting for an event than, for example, Ibiza?

Lennart: "I think first of all about the prices and then about hospitality. Ibiza is highly commercialised. You have fantastic venues there and can put on a really impressive event, but many people have seen it all by now.

In Marrakesh you can still truly surprise people. It's a completely different experience and the city is developing at breakneck speed. You have villas there with ten, fifteen or even fifty rooms, for example. This means you can stay with a large group in one place and organise the event there too. That makes it very special."

''In Marrakesh you can still truly surprise people''

When do you think afterwards: yes, this was truly a success?

Lennart: "One of the most beautiful moments for me was last year at the farewell of a bridal couple in Marrakesh. We had organised a five-day wedding and I had tears in my eyes when we said goodbye. They really had no words for how beautiful it was.

After five days we had to close that dream together and they were so grateful. That really touched me personally. Then you realise: what a beautiful job we did."

What have you learned over the years about working with a client?

Lei: "Communication is the most important thing. You have to take a client along through the entire process. We actually see a client as a partner, because you create such an event together.

That's why there also has to be a connection. We like to take on assignments that energise us and work with people where that feeling is mutual. If that connection isn't there, it becomes very difficult to create something special together."

Looking ahead, what's on the agenda in the coming period?

Lei: "There are several beautiful weddings coming up and we're working on various events with The Duke, where we're involved as a preferred styling partner, among other things.

We're also organising a large corporate event for around six hundred people, combined with the owner's sixtieth birthday. That will take place in the company hall itself. We're also working on a party for a law firm and there's an inquiry for a corporate event in Marrakesh."

Is there an event still on your wish list?

Lei: "Having Taylor Swift get married, that would be fun."

Lennart: "Or someone from the royal family."

Lei: "Yes, that would be lovely. Maybe first organise a jubilee for Willem-Alexander and Máxima. Then we'll get to know the children already, haha."

Curious to know more? Discover BYLEI and their projects here.