Celine Dion is recalling how she paid a physical price for her epic wedding look. In a video for Vogue, the singer looked back at some of her iconic outfits for the magazine’s “Life in Looks” series, and shared a memorable story from her 1994 wedding to René Angélil.
Upon seeing her stunning wedding photo, Dion admitted that she was left “speechless” by the memories it brought up.
“My husband and I got married in ’94. December 17, to be precise. I still feel his presence so much,” she said of her late husband and manager. “This is a moment that will be with me for the rest of my life.”
Angélil died in 2016 after a battle with cancer. He and Dion share three children: René-Charles, 23, and 13-year-old twins, Eddy and Nelson.
As for her wedding look, Dion admitted, “The dress couldn’t have been big enough. I could’ve had three times the size on my head. I could’ve had six different dresses that night, because he was and he is still such a wonderful human being. He brought [out] the best of me. He really did.”
Then there’s the headpiece Dion opted to don, which she said was “glued to my head” and had “been sewn” to stay in place.
“So no problem, I can manage the weight,” she said. “When you’re so happy there’s no weight. There’s no problem. There’s no pain.”
Dion thought she was proven correct after she rehearsed with her full ensemble ahead of the big day, and “everything is smooth and everything is fine.” When it came time for the actual wedding, though, the flooring was different in the cathedral than it had been in the rehearsal space.
“I had an immediate face lift,” Dion recalled, as she demonstrated how her face pulled back in pain. “I start to walk and I go like, ‘Am I gonna make it? Am I going to make it to my future husband?’ But like I said, I’m going to run to you. I did.”
Dion put the pain out of her mind and enjoyed her wedding night, as she said, “All night, [it’s] all great, people [are] happy.”
When she went to remove the headpiece later that evening, though, Dion “had a cut because the pressure was too much.” In the morning, the situation further worsened.
“The next day, I wake up, I look at myself in the mirror. I have a [bump] the size of an egg in the middle of my forehead. I looked to my husband and I said, ‘It’s too late now. We’re married,'” she quipped. “But it’s so huge that it made my eyes look [like they were crossed]. I’m like, ‘OK, let’s go to the doctor.’ I had to be on antibiotics for about three weeks.”
Dion’s video came after she covered the latest edition of Vogue France. In an Instagram post, Dion shared what landing the cover meant to her amid her ongoing health battle with Stiff Person Syndrome.
“I’m honored to be doing a photo shoot for Vogue France. I’m very proud that, at 55, I’ve been asked to reveal my beauty,” she wrote. “But what is beauty? Beauty is you, it’s me, it’s what’s inside, it’s our dreams, it’s today. Today, I’m a woman who is feeling strong and positive about the future. One day at a time.”
Last month, Dion spoke out about her health in a post in honor of International Stiff Person Syndrome Awareness Day.
“Trying to overcome this autoimmune disorder has been one of the hardest experiences of my life, but I remain determined to one day get back onto the stage and to live as normal of a life as possible,” she wrote at the time. “I am deeply grateful for the love and support from my kids, family, team and all of you! I want to send my encouragement and support to all those around the world that have been affected by SPS. I want you to know you can do it! We can do it!”
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