Richard Lugner married his “bee”

It is the builder’s sixth marriage, and Reiländer’s first appearance before a registrar. The 42-year-old bride’s maid of honour was her sister, Sonja Reiländer. Richard Lugner was accompanied by his son Alexander.

50 guests and 20 TV teams

The couple arrived at the town hall shortly before the 2 p.m. appointment and entered the much too small Steiner Hall 2 under a barrage of flashbulbs. In front of 50 invited guests, around 20 TV teams and photographers, and numerous media representatives, Reiländer and Lugner then exchanged vows in a short ceremony. The registrar took the fuss in her stride: “I also did the wedding with Cathy Schmitz ten years ago,” she revealed.

“We just get on well, and our relationship horoscope looks good,” said Lugner upon his arrival at the town hall. Reiländer also takes good care of his garden and works hard in his shopping center, Lugner City. However, the builder was exhausted. “I haven’t slept enough and am pretty worn out. But I’m not nervous,” said Lugner.

• Also read: Late happiness: Richard Lugner shows that you are never too old for love

Ride in vintage buses

Lugner was also lucky with the weather: just after the wedding ceremony, the sky cleared and the bride and groom and their guests were able to be driven in open vintage buses around the town hall to the Palais Auersperg as planned. There, Richard and Simone first received lots of congratulations – among those offering their congratulations was the Third President of the National Council, Norbert Hofer (FPÖ). After cutting the wedding cake, the bride’s dance was planned. In order to be able to move particularly well on the dance floor, the bride wore white boots instead of high heels.

The party was supposed to end at 7 p.m. and the newlyweds wanted to retire to a luxury hotel in Vienna, where they would spend their wedding night. On Sunday they would go on their honeymoon, which would only last three days, to Dresden and Leipzig. According to the bride, the wedding and all the festivities were planned by Lugner and his executive secretary.

Lots of experience in marriage

Lugner now has a lot of experience with weddings: He married his childhood sweetheart Christine Gmeiner for the first time in 1961. The couple separated after 17 years. In 1979, the master builder remarried. But this union only lasted four years. “The then OPEC Secretary General stole Cornelia (Hahn, note) from me,” Lugner said beforehand.

Marriage number three followed, with Susanne Dietrich. The union ended tragically: in 1984, shortly after the divorce, Dietrich fell into a coma after cosmetic surgery and died. Christina “Mausi” Lugner, the architect’s most famous partner, followed. This marriage, which was also celebrated in Vienna City Hall, ended in 2007. The couple’s daughter, Jacqueline Lugner, is also set to get married this year. Christina Lugner was a guest at Vienna City Hall with her new partner Ernst Prost. “I hope she catches the bouquet. We don’t have that many single women among the guests,” said her ex-husband.

Simone is said to be the last

In September 2014, Richard Lugner married German playmate Cathy Schmitz in a fifth wedding staged as a media spectacle in Vienna’s Schönbrunn Palace. The couple ended their relationship after just two years. The wedding with Viennese-born Simone Reiländer, who lives as a vegan because of her love of animals, is now said to be “the last”. The church blessing is to take place in St. Stephen’s Cathedral in October.