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Lindner and Lehfeldt in front of the Sylt Museum
Photo: Axel Heimken / dpa
A kiss under white flowers: Minister of Finance Christian Lindner and his partner Franca Lehfeldt got married in a civil ceremony on Sylt.
At around 5:30 p.m., the couple stepped in front of the Sylt Museum, where guests were already waiting to throw flower petals.
After the wedding kiss, the FDP politician and the journalist went through the museum gate onto the street to their car.
They waved to numerous curious onlookers and journalists who had been waiting for the couple.
Lindner wore a light blue suit, Lehfeldt a cream-colored, off-the-shoulder jumpsuit with a tight top.
Hours earlier, numerous curious people had gathered on the street and in the garden in front of the museum at around 17 degrees and with a lot of wind.
The museum was open until late noon, after which a sign was hung on the door - visiting the museum was temporarily restricted due to a wedding.
Those who were still on the premises were asked to leave.
The street in front of it also had to be cleared.
Police officers stood in front of the crowd of curious people, which consisted mainly of vacationers.
Then it was time to wait.
Several dozen of the meanwhile well over a hundred people persevered.
The church wedding is to take place on Saturday
The civil wedding of Lindner and Lehfeldt was the prelude to multi-day wedding celebrations on Sylt.
According to information from the German Press Agency, a bachelorette party is to take place on Friday.
The couple plans to get married in a church on Saturday.
According to media reports, there will be a party in the »Zanzibar« in the evening.
Accordingly, numerous celebrities should be on the guest list – including Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
According to the "Bild" newspaper, around 140 people have been invited.
The couple have not yet commented on this.
It is the second marriage for the 43-year-old Lindner.
He was already married to the journalist Dagmar Rosenfeld.
Today's editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Die Welt am Sonntag" and Lindner have been married since 2011, and their separation became known in April 2018.
The FDP leader has been with Lehfeldt since the summer of 2018.
The 33-year-old works as a political reporter for the Welt news channel, which belongs to the Axel Springer media group.
It was announced last October that she and Lindner had gotten engaged.
"We are overjoyed," Lehfeldt told the RTL broadcaster, for which she was still working.
criticism on social media
In the run-up to the wedding, people on social media had criticized the celebration.
It was a waste of taxes and the time for the celebration was inappropriate.
"I don't begrudge anyone their marriage," wrote one Twitter user, "but to announce on the same day that they want to save on care, the long-term unemployed and people with disabilities, while shelling out tens of thousands of euros for personal security: at least instinctively."
Justice Minister and party colleague Marco Buschmann, on the other hand, wrote that anyone who takes offense at the wedding “is best looking for a therapist”.
In front of the museum, however, things were peaceful.
The feared and also announced disruptors were not to be seen either.
Only some of those waiting expressed a lack of understanding, for example because there was no information about the time of the celebration and the couple had gone through the back entrance to the museum before the wedding.
Last year, Lindner also divulged private information in an interview with the magazine "Bunte".
Starting a family with his partner Lehfeldt is very important to him.
"Yes, Franca and I have that wish," he answered when asked about the topic of having our own family.
His greatest wish in life is "soon to have two, three or four girls or boys".
Sylt is very popular as a wedding location - not only with the islanders themselves, but also with many guests.
There are four permanent registrars on the island and three "temporaries" - ie registrars who work permanently in a different department.
kko/dpa
