June 25, 2007 was a very important day for Wang Feng, because on this day, he acquired a new identity - husband.
The venue for their wedding was ultimately chosen as the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria. They had once visited there together, and the musical atmosphere of Vienna and the beautiful scenery of the Schönbrunn Palace left a deep impression on Lu Yao.
This palace, with a long history, is located in the southwest of Vienna. It is a Baroque-style building with a total area of 26,000 square meters, second only to the Palace of Versailles in France in Europe.
In addition to typical European-style buildings, there are also some characteristic oriental classical-style buildings, including Chinese-style rooms with inlaid purple sandalwood and black sandalwood, and Japanese-style rooms decorated with gold leaf and lacquer.
It used to be the palace of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg royal family. Its name comes from the refreshing spring water Emperor Matthias of the Holy Roman Empire drank here, which made him admire the refreshing and sweet taste.
The staff of the Schönbrunn Palace opened the banquet hall, ballroom, and vast royal gardens for Wang Feng and Lu Yao, and declined visitors one month before and 10 days after the wedding, specifically leaving the venue for them to arrange.
The music used at the wedding was specially performed by a dozen musicians invited on-site. Wang Feng's suit and Lu Yao's wedding dress were also custom-made by private brands, which are said to have served many European royal families.
The guest list for the wedding was also very complicated. Although they wanted to keep it simple, Wang Feng has accumulated a large network of contacts in Europe since he started his career there and had to consider carefully.
Teammates from Real Madrid, staff, and club executives needed to be invited, and friends from Inter Milan also wanted to attend. Moratti even called Wang Feng several times, afraid that the Chinese would forget him, making Wang Feng amused and promising to invite him.
Even earlier friends such as Maglietta, Renee, and Bess, as well as Antonis, also wanted to come. Of course, they couldn't forget their national team teammates. They were already training for the Asian Cup, and the team leader specially gave everyone a few days off.
Business partners in the commercial field and senior executives of Feng Yao Group also couldn't be missed. Currently, the company is getting bigger and its market value is getting higher, which cannot be achieved without the help of these people.
Counting them all, the number of guests even reached hundreds. Fortunately, the venue of the Schönbrunn Palace was large enough, otherwise such a large-scale wedding could not be held.
At the same time, in order to provide the best service to the guests, Wang Feng hired more than a dozen of Europe's top wedding service companies, from the initial car reception to the service guidance during the wedding, to the return journey, all were meticulously planned.
The food at the banquet was provided by top chefs from around the world, including Michelin-starred chefs. In order to cater to different tastes, delicacies from Belgium, Italy, Spain, and China were all prepared.
Such a grand wedding naturally cost a lot. According to preliminary calculations, it would cost at least 10 million euros, which was mostly discounted by the suppliers due to the influence of Wang Feng.
And the grand ceremony naturally attracted the attention of the world media. They flocked to Austria. Since Wang Feng didn't want his wedding to be too exposed, he politely declined the media's requests to enter and shoot. They could only wait outside the palace and take pictures of the guests entering.
Accompanied by melodious wedding music, Wang Feng stood a little nervous in the ceremonial hall, waiting for the bride to come to him. When the door opened, his breath stopped for a moment.
Lu Yao stood tall in her white wedding dress, smiling at Wang Feng. The sunlight streamed in from behind her, casting a golden halo around her, making her look holy and beautiful.
Lu Xuexing stepped forward, took his daughter's hand, and walked slowly towards Wang Feng. After coming to him, he handed Lu Yao to him and said softly, "Please make her happy!" Wang Feng nodded vigorously.
Next was their time. Under the witness of the officiator, they made their vows of love. The ceremony was very concise, with no tedious questions or a loud master of ceremonies, only the vows of a couple to a beautiful future life.
When Wang Feng put the wedding ring on Lu Yao's finger, the atmosphere at the scene reached its peak, and all the indoor spectators stood up to applaud them.
Lu Yao's mother looked a little choked up as she looked at her only daughter. There was always a sense of emptiness in her heart, but Lu Xuexing comforted her, "Daughters will always get married, no need to be too sad. Yao Yao will always be our child."
Wang Feng's mother also said aside, "Yes, we will treat her as our own daughter and will never allow Afeng to treat her unfairly."
After the ceremony, everyone moved to the banquet hall and began the banquet. Although there were many people, the service was flawless. Many waiters would replenish guests' dishes and drinks in a timely manner and listen to their needs.
Wang Feng and Lu Yao changed into casual clothes to accept everyone's blessings. Maglietta patted him on the shoulder with a gratified expression and said, "Time flies, you were like a kid yesterday at sixteen, but now you have grown into a world superstar."
"It's all because you gave me the opportunity from the beginning." Wang Feng clinked glasses with him. "I've given many people opportunities, but only you have grown to this position. It's fortunate for me to witness the rise of a superstar in my lifetime, haha."
In addition to Maglietta, Wang Feng also communicated with many old friends. They all felt that even though he had achieved fame and success, he remained the warm and humble young man from China.
After a whole day of hustle and bustle, Lu Yao and Wang Feng were already tired, but the guests left satisfied. Some chose to leave on the same day, and some chose to leave the next day. Accommodation and meals were naturally taken care of by Wang Feng.
Before Florentino left, he took the time to discuss the progress of the summer transfer with him. Pepe and Heinze can officially play all matches for the team next season, which is believed to greatly improve the team's defensive capabilities.
But it's not enough. Real Madrid plans to continue to strengthen the defense. They are eyeing Chelsea's English defender John Terry. The Blues had a poor performance last year, and the conflicts between coach Mourinho and chairman Abramovich have become increasingly intense. The club is also in chaos.
In addition to this, the midfield support of the Galacticos also needs to be further strengthened. Ajax midfielder Sneijder and Chelsea's Robben have also entered Florentino's field of vision.
Wang Feng fully agreed with Real Madrid's president's transfer strategy. At this stage, stabilizing the defense of the Galacticos is crucial. Although he has a positive attitude towards the game, he may not be able to sustain frequent retractions and runs in every game.
After seeing off everyone, Wang Feng and his party had to return to their hometown to entertain the local elders and relatives who couldn't attend the ceremony and had to be invited again.
For this reason, the national team allowed him to return at the end of June. Although it was still very rushed, considering that the first game of the Chinese team is on July 10th, this return date is already very generous.