It’s the glamor wedding of the year: Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) marries “Welt” journalist Franca Lehfeldt. After the wedding-eve party on Friday, the church wedding took place on Saturday. All developments in the news ticker.
5:50 p.m .: It is thanks to Princess Diana that Franca Lehfeldt was able to wear a luxury robe by British designer Kate Halfpenny at her church wedding. Because when Kate saw Lady Di in her wedding dress, she knew that one day she would become a designer. “The moment that inspired me came early,” she told the Daily Mail in 2017. “It was 1981 and I was sitting in front of a boxy TV watching the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana. I was six years old, “But I still remember the hair on the back of my neck standing on end when I saw Diana in her Elizabeth Emanuel wedding dress. All I wanted to do was draw the silhouette with the cinched waist and the gigantic skirt.” she remembered.
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Tip: FDP politicians – new woman, wedding, assets – Christian Lindner in check
Sunday, July 10, 12:46 p.m .: The Protestant theologian Margot Käßmann publicly criticizes the church wedding of Christian Lindner and Franca Lehfeldt in the column of “Bild am Sonntag”. “Why do two people want a church wedding who have consciously left the church and have publicly declared that they do not see themselves as Christians?” she writes. Her answer is quite clear: “This is not about God’s blessing, but about a beautiful setting.” But the churches should not give in to that, emphasizes Margot. For her and many others, churches are a place “where people bring joy and sorrow to God for centuries. They are prayerful spaces that give consolation”. Margot Käßmann thinks it is right that at least one of the partners has to be a church member for a church wedding. If there were a legal loophole here, it should be closed as soon as possible, because otherwise “we are degrading our traditional spaces, in which Christians give glory to God, to cheap event locations,” says the evangelical theologian.
Finance Minister Christian Linder (FDP) celebrates his pompous wedding with journalist Franca Lehfeldt on the celebrity island of Sylt for three days. A guest: Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). At the same time, your government is preparing the citizens for difficult times, and many people are already running out of money. What do you think: does Lindner’s extravagant wedding fit into this time? Write to us at mein-bericht@focus.de.
9:02 p.m .: While you could see the newlywed couple in front of St. Severin’s Church, the privacy of the wedding party is strictly protected at the wedding party in Zanzibar. There are several police barriers on site. Only Franca Lehfeldt’s stylist gave a little insight into the celebrations. In the photo, the bridal couple clink glasses with their guests.
7:34 p.m .: By the way, the day for the newlyweds and their guests is far from over. In the evening, the celebrations continue in the “Sansibar” between Rantum and Hörnum on the North Sea beach of Sylt.
7:13 p.m .: In addition to her engagement ring with a diamond, Franca Lehfeldt wears a silver wedding ring set with many small diamonds. Both pieces of jewelery now glitter on her right ring finger. The bride shared a photo on Instagram and wrote: “complete”. Christian Lindner’s right hand is now also adorned with a wedding ring. The Federal Minister of Finance has opted for a simple, silver specimen that is intended to serve as a symbol of his love.
6:37 p.m .: When leaving the church, a dpa photographer captured the first pictures of the newlyweds together.
6.10 p.m .: The newlyweds dash away in the Porsche with which the bride had arrived in the afternoon.
5:50 p.m.: The bride and groom’s wedding is over. The guests gradually leave the church, a champagne reception has already been set up.
Lindner’s car is also driven up and Scholz security is getting ready again.
4:18 p.m .: The bride is here! And the bells are ringing. The wedding can begin. While the journalist wore her hair tied in a tight ponytail and closed at the civil wedding on Thursday, she appears at the church wedding today with her hair down. Christian Lindner’s wife was driven up in a Porsche decorated with flowers. According to “Bild.de”, her robe is a creation of the British label “Halfpenny London”. Her elegant off-white dress with a low back and halterneck is most likely the “Cheryl” model, which is currently available from the London luxury department store Harrod’s is available for 3950 British pounds (4666 euros).
4:02 p.m .: According to “Bild”, your wedding dress should be an absolute dream and come from the luxury bridal fashion manufacturer Halfpenny London. According to the report, it is a couture model from the special collection “Kate Halfpenny Harrod’s UK” – a long, cream-white hybrid model with a train.
3:58 p.m .: The wedding should actually start at 4 p.m., but there is still nothing to be seen of the bride in front of the church. Instead, the punks set the mood, drowning out the crowd in front of the church with a wild music mix.
3:41 p.m .: It’s getting serious. After Chancellor Olaf Scholz drove up, the groom is now there. Christian Lindner’s car was driven right in front of the church entrance.
2:51 p.m .: The church ceremony of Christian Lindner and Franca Lehfeldt is imminent, in the afternoon they want to get married in St. Severin Church. In the morning, police officers combed the grounds of the church. A drone is said to have been sighted, as reported by the “Bild” newspaper. The police noticed her and filed a criminal complaint. The flying object quickly moved away from the church grounds. The owner of the drone has not yet been found.
11.49 a.m .: Curious incident on the evening before the church wedding of Christian Lindner and Franca Lehfeldt on Sylt. According to a report in the “Bild” newspaper, around 35 punks set out on Friday evening to disrupt Lindner and Lehfeldt’s bachelorette party. This took place with prominent guests in the beach bar “Kaamps7”.
The problem for the punks: they went to the wrong place. The group went to the luxury hotel “Severin’s”, where the wedding couple is actually staying – but just didn’t spend the evening there. Arriving at the hotel, the punks were stopped by the police and evictions were issued. They were then escorted back to the train station.
11.28 a.m .: Before the church wedding of Christian Lindner (43, FDP) and Franca Lehfeldt (33), police officers used dogs in the morning to search the church and cemetery of the Church of St. Severin in Keitum, where the couple wants to get married. Afterwards, officials remained on the premises. There was no official information in advance about the timing of the three-day celebration and the individual locations. The exact time of the wedding in St. Severin is also not known. Observers go out in the afternoon.
After the wedding ceremony in the church, there will be a celebration in the evening in the “Sansibar” between Rantum and Hörnum on the North Sea beach of Sylt. Numerous celebrities are said to be on the guest list – including Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). CDU leader Friedrich Merz arrived on Sylt with the private plane on Friday. He himself sat in the cockpit of the plane, with his wife Charlotte at his side. VW CEO Herbert Diess also landed at the island’s airport.
Saturday, July 9th, 9.55 a.m .: Franca Lehfeldt will not take Christian Lindner’s last name. This is reported by the “image”. The bride is said to have changed her mind shortly before the wedding. Previously it was said that the journalist wanted to take Lindner’s last name, at least on paper, but would still like to appear in public as Lehfeldt.
Saturday, July 9th, 8:52 a.m.: Christian Lindner (43) and Franca Lehfeldt (33) are married in church on Saturday. The ceremony takes place in the evangelical church of St. Severin on Sylt. The fact that the Finance Minister is getting married in a church is surprising in that he left the Catholic Church after his 18th birthday – and therefore no longer pays church taxes. He also told Die Zeit in 2019 that “Christianity is not the main source of our system of values” and thus underlined that he could not do too much with faith. The ceremony is therefore also performed by the philosopher Peter Sloterdijk (75).
11:24 p.m .: CDU leader Friedrich Merz and his wife Charlotte came to Sylt with their private plane for the wedding of Federal Finance Minister Lindner. Merz himself was in the cockpit of the plane on Friday. He and his wife are on the guest list for Lindner and Lehfeldt’s wedding party.
11:00 p.m.: The secret of the location of the bachelorette party has now been revealed: the celebrations will take place in the beach restaurant “Kaamps7”. In addition to Merz, guests are also Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann (FDP), “Lion’s Cave” star Frank Thelen with his wife Nathalie Thelen-Sattler, VW boss Herbert Diess and CDU politician Armin Laschet with his wife Susanne. Lehfeldt’s make-up artist Lukas Kuciel shares a picture of the evening on Instagram. The bride can be seen posing beaming with friends. She is wearing a short snake-look dress.
5 p.m.: It is not yet known what time the big church wedding will take place tomorrow. However, there has been a ban on parking in the street next to St. Severin Church since Friday, as “SHZ” reports. A sign should also point out that parking behind the church is not allowed on Saturday between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m.
4 p.m .: According to Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann (FDP), party colleague Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP) also defends the security measures around the Lindner wedding. On Twitter she writes: “BKA belongs (…) 24/7 to high-ranking ministers – even at weddings. As long as politicians are ‘allowed’ to have private lives. When a finance minister gets married, it attracts media interest. (…) The minister himself can’t do anything about that.” She adds: “Security and stewards on site, which are necessary and go beyond the minister’s BKA protection, are of course paid for by the bridal couple, like the whole wedding Private.”
3:27 p.m .: Lehfeldt’s make-up artist Lukas Kuciel gives a look behind the scenes on Instagram. He posts a picture of a vanity case and tags the bride with the words “Day Two.” Apparently the 33-year-old is now in the mask. The bachelorette party is getting closer!
2:44 p.m .: Many onlookers are now at Sylt Airport, hoping to see one or the other political celebrity. In any case, they will not be able to catch a glimpse of Wolfgang Kubicki, the deputy federal chairman of the FDP. He informed “SHZ” that he was traveling by train from Berlin to Sylt on Friday evening. If his connection doesn’t show a delay, he should still make it to Lindner and Lehfeldt’s bachelorette party in time. Kubicki will probably not sleep like some other guests in the Severin’s luxury resort, but in his own apartment in Kampen.
1:54 p.m .: Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) was asked what he would give his colleague Christian Lindner for the wedding. “He’s happy about the energy law, that has to be enough,” Habeck replied mischievously to the “Bild” journalist.
1:23 p.m .: According to “SHZ”, some private jets landed on the airfield at Sylt Airport on Friday afternoon. It is not officially known who and when exactly will arrive there: According to the airport boss Peter Douven, registration should not be necessary. A “Who’s who” of the German elite is expected at tomorrow’s church wedding. Among the around 140 guests are Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Friedrich Merz (CDU).
12.12 p.m .: Today on Sylt, Lindner and Lehfeldt are all about the bachelorette party. According to information from RTL, it will probably take place in “Kaamps7”, a restaurant with a view of the dunes. “SHZ”, on the other hand, refers to an insider, after which the bachelorette party takes place at Severin’s resort. The majority of the guests and the couple themselves are accommodated there.
Friday, July 8, 9:00 a.m.: After the civil wedding, we ate and celebrated in the Vogelkoje restaurant in List. The bride herself gave impressions in her Instagram story. Around 11:30 p.m., she posted two pictures showing her looking happy with friends. Among them was the deputy editor-in-chief of the “Bild” newspaper, Paul Ronzheimer, and journalist and author Nena Schink. Also visible in the picture: Lehfeldt’s wedding ring!
5:48 p.m .: A burning question has finally been answered: What is the bride wearing? Even before the wedding, there was speculation as to what outfit Franca Lehfeldt would wear when Finance Minister Christian Linder said yes. As already suspected, she wore an elegant white jumpsuit by “Safiyaa” to the registry office.
The London fashion label is also one of Duchess Meghan’s favorites. Franca Lehfeldt is said to have taken her fashion inspiration from her. High stilettos and large earrings rounded off the 33-year-old’s look at the registry office.
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The original of this article “Franca Lehfeldt’s wedding dress: the designer raves about Lady Di” comes from Bunte.de.
