The Truth About Celine Dion's Iconic Over-The-Top Wedding Dress

When pop megastar Celine Dion married her longtime manager Rene Angelil on December. 17, 1994, it was as if Canada was witnessing its very own royal wedding (via Vogue). After all, Dion was one of the most famous singing sensations in the world, and she hailed from Quebec, becoming a star in Canada long before the rest of the world knew and loved her. Angelil was also a native Canadian, and the country took pride in this union between one of its most famous natives and the man who helped bring her that fame.

At the time, the Canadian Broadcasting Channel called the opulent wedding "the most talked about in Quebec history." Dion was only 26 years old when she married the 51-year-old Angelil, but it was a union meant to be as all of Canada watched the extravagant nuptials live on television. They stayed together for more than 20 years, until his death in 2016, and raised three children together.

Perhaps the most memorable part of Celine Dion's grand wedding fit for a fairytale was the over-the-top and unique wedding dress worn by the famous bride.

Celine Dion and Rene Angelil met when she was only 12 years old after one of her siblings sent a recording of a song she wrote to the well-known Canadian music manager. Angelil took on Dion as a client, mortgaging his home to finance the launch of her career and taking her and her mother on tour to Japan and Europe, according to Good Housekeeping. 

Because he was an adult, their relationship was platonic and professional for many years as he took her from Canadian and European fame to worldwide stardom. By the time Dion turned 19, their relationship developed into something else, and they went on a real date, beginning a romance that would lead to a more-than-two-decade marriage and three children. However, they initially kept their romantic relationship a secret for five years. 

It wasn't until Dion released the record "The Color of My Love" that she shocked everyone in the album's liner notes by revealing whom she was in love with. After all, they were 26 years apart, and they worried for a long time what people would think (via Good Housekeeping), especially after Dion's mother vehemently objected to her daughter's choice in men. It didn't help that Angelil had been married before and had children. 

However, when they finally decided to wed in 1994, they were Canada's top celebrity couple, and Dion wore a gown fit for a princess.

When you're a singing superstar and one of the most famous young women in the world with money to spare, why not don yourself in a wedding gown that might weigh more than you do? When Celine Dion walked down the aisle of Montreal's Notre-Dame Basilica to tie the knot with Rene Angelil, she stunned in a gorgeous but enormous gown designed by Mirella and Steve Gentile (via French Vogue).

The gown did not disappoint, featuring an A-line cut (showing off Dion's ultra-slim waist), a bubble skirt reminiscent of 19th-century fashion, and a dramatic 19-foot train. Adorned with hand-sewn lace and crystals and featuring a revealing sweetheart neckline, the gown was certainly fit for royalty. The French silk and lace ensemble took more than 1,000 hours to create and cost a whopping $25,000, according to Fabiosa. But the accessories that Dion wore were also exceptional.

Getting married in the winter, Celine Dion also wore a white fur coat when she arrived at her nuptials. But perhaps the ensemble's most memorable piece was the headpiece made of Swarovski crystals, which weighed an impressive 7 pounds, according to French Vogue. In fact, the headpiece was so over-the-top that Dion couldn't even wear it in a traditional way. Instead, it had to be sewn into her hair for it to fit just right and look absolutely perfect (via The Knot).

Just a few years later, the couple was stunned when Rene Angelil was diagnosed with throat cancer. After he went into remission in 2000, Dion and Angelil used the occasion to renew their wedding vows in a Las Vegas wedding. This time, Dion chose not to wear white and instead dressed all in gold to remarry the man she nearly lost (via French Vogue). Sadly, Angelil's cancer returned years later, and he passed away on Jan. 14, 2016 (via USA Today).