Twenty-two years prior to the celebrated Battle of Yavin, and not long after the commencement of the Clone Wars, a clandestine wedding united Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala in matrimony on Naboo. This union, observed solely by the droids C-3PO and R2-D2, was shrouded in secrecy because of Amidala's distinguished role as a Senator within the Galactic Republic and Skywalker's affiliation with the Jedi Order; the tenets of the Jedi Code forbade Jedi from experiencing romantic love and forming attachments like marriage.
Skywalker's marital bond with Amidala significantly contributed to his descent into the dark side of the Force, as Darth Sidious—the Dark Lord of the Sith—masterfully lured him with promises of acquiring the power necessary to shield Amidala from death. Ultimately, Amidala passed away during the delivery of their children, Luke and Leia Skywalker.
During the invasion affecting the planet Naboo, Queen Padmé Amidala and her Jedi protectors fled the besieged world, seeking sanctuary on the [desert](/article/desert] planet Tatooine. It was on Tatooine that they encountered a youthful slave by the name of Anakin Skywalker, who was instrumental in securing the necessary components for their departure. The young Skywalker achieved his freedom, aided the queen and the Jedi in liberating Naboo, and subsequently became a member of the Jedi Order. Throughout the ensuing ten years, he often contemplated Amidala and experienced recurring dreams concerning her. Despite not seeing her for a full decade after the Naboo Crisis, his affections for her deepened.
In the course of the Separatist Crisis that preceded the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, then-Senator Amidala became a target for assassination due to her resistance to the Republic's proposed Military Creation Act. Skywalker was tasked with her protection, accompanying her to Naboo to ensure her safety while in seclusion. Their shared time fostered the growth of their feelings, with Amidala developing a deeper connection to the young Padawan. Despite their burgeoning attraction, Amidala believed a relationship with her Jedi protector was impossible; Amidala was a prominent senator, and Skywalker was bound by the Jedi Code, which prohibited attachments like romance. The pair was later captured on Geonosis while attempting to rescue Skywalker's Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, from Separatist imprisonment, and all three were sentenced to death. Immediately before being led into a Geonosian execution arena, Amidala confessed her genuine love for Skywalker, wanting him to know this before their demise.
Skywalker and Amidala survived Geonosis, rescued by a Jedi assault team and the forces of the Grand Army of the Republic. This rescue eventuated in the First Battle of Geonosis, which ignited the Clone Wars between the Republic and the Separatist Alliance. After recovering from the battle, which included receiving a cybernetic hand to replace the one lost to Count Dooku, Skywalker accompanied Amidala back to Naboo under the guise of escorting her home, as the Jedi High Council remained unaware of the Padawan's romantic involvement with the senator.
Amidala's wedding dress was crafted by her former handmaiden Yané, who was unaware of Amidala's intended spouse. Following Yané's advice, Amidala fashioned her veil from her family's inherited wedding fabric, utilizing sewing bots from Varykino Villa.
Protocol droid C-3PO endeavored to keep the bride and groom separate until the wedding ceremony. During their time on Naboo, Amidala, with Yané's assistance, constructed her wedding dress, while Skywalker engaged in meditation at the shrine dedicated to the memory of the fallen Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn. On the morning of their wedding, Queen Jamillia of Naboo contacted Amidala to request a rescue mission for a group of artists from the Torada Collective on the planet Nooroyo. After completing their mission, where only the queen's sister Antraya chose to return to Naboo with them, the couple arrived just in time for their wedding.
The dress Yané had created for Padmé arrived at lunchtime before the ceremony and was immediately unpacked by C-3PO, who wanted to prevent any wrinkles and spread it out on the bed. Padmé styled her own hair and applied makeup, emphasizing her features rather than muting them as she usually did. After putting on her shift and underdress, Padmé realized that the dress Yané had made for her had about a million tiny [pearl](/article/pearl] buttons on the back that Padmé couldn't possibly reach by herself. This caused Padmé to feel incredibly lonely as her friends were far from her, she didn't know where her handmaiden Sabé was, her parents Jobal and Ruwee Naberrie were unaware she was on Naboo, and her colleagues only knew the generalities of where she'd gone following the Battle of Geonosis. Padmé then reminded herself she chose this and wanted this before getting into the dress.
The star-crossed lovers exchanged vows at sunset in Varykino, a lakeside sanctuary within Naboo's Lake Country, in a private yet modest ceremony. A local holy man, with reverence for ancestral traditions, officiated the union. Aside from the priest, only the droids C-3PO and R2-D2 were present as witnesses. The marriage was kept secret, as discovery by the Jedi Council could have resulted in Skywalker's expulsion from the Jedi Order. Moreover, by marrying a Jedi, Amidala risked a scandal that could have ended her career as a senator.
As a wedding gift, Amidala gifted her new husband R2. Similarly, following the wedding, C-3PO became more Amidala's property than Skywalker's because, owing to her role as a Galactic Senator, she had a greater need for a reliable translator than Skywalker did. As Skywalker still needed to recover from the Battle of Geonosis, the two newlyweds had time to enjoy each other's company even after their honeymoon ended. Aware that he would soon be apart from her for some time, Skywalker devoted every second of his time to Amidala.
While some of Amidala's staff became aware of the relationship, she changed the way her household was run, with her new handmaidens, Ellé and Moteé, taking on more traditional roles of a handmaiden unlike Amidala's previous handmaidens. The handmaidens slept on the floor bellow in Amidala's apartment rather than in the penthouse like they did before, and her household underwent a new routine, including Amidala's nights becoming free and no longer having daily dinners with her security personnel. This isolated Amidala to give her time for her marriage, which was noted by her handmaiden Sabé when she stood in for Amidala in the senate shortly after the wedding. Sabé's discovery of the relationship from Skywalker rather than Amidala contributed to her decision to leave her position as Amidala's handmaiden and "shadow" to return to Tatooine with her partner Tonra to help end the slavery there.
Yané would also tell her wife Saché, who had also served as a handmaiden to Amidala, about how she had made a wedding dress for Amidala and Saché subtlety congratulated her shortly after. Another of Amidala's handmaidens, Dormé, also realised that the two were in a relationship and told Sabé that she was going to recommend Amidala tell Ellé and Moteé.
Arguably, the wedding became the most significant marital event in galactic history. The union of Skywalker and Amidala ultimately concluded in profound sorrow. Haunted by visions of Amidala perishing during childbirth, and unable to find the answers he sought from the Jedi, Skywalker became the apprentice of Darth Sidious, publicly known as his friend Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, who promised to reveal the means to save individuals from death. Skywalker embraced the mantle of a Dark Lord of the Sith, adopting the name Darth Vader, and subsequently aided his new master in the destruction of the Jedi Order. Amidala attempted to redeem Skywalker from the dark side of the Force, but Skywalker, in a surge of anger, attacked his wife, believing she had betrayed him to the Jedi.
Amidala passed away shortly after giving birth to her twins, Luke and Leia, while a severely wounded Darth Vader was condemned to spend the remainder of his existence encased in a suit of armor. Sidious misled Vader into believing that he was responsible for Amidala's death—although medical droids instead speculated that Amidala had lost the will to live— and he carried this guilt with him for many years.
After Padmé's death the couple's son Luke was taken in by Anakin's stepbrother Owen Lars and his wife Beru on Tatooine and was watched over by Obi-Wan. Their daughter meanwhile was adopted by Padmé's fellow senator and friend Bail Organa and his wife Queen Breha Organa of Alderaan, renaming her from Leia Amidala Skywalker to Leia Organa and making her princess of Alderaan.
Shortly after the Battle of Fortress Vader, Darth Vader entered a portal constructed by Darth Momin to resurrect Amidala. While walking through visions, he saw his wedding as the words of "We are encouraged to love" resounded in his mind.
Despite his dark turn, Amidala's dying words were that there was still good in Vader, a belief that was later carried on by Luke, who was able to guide Vader out from the dark side as Vader sacrificed himself to save Luke. Vader's dying words to Luke were to tell his sister he was right about Vader however Leia didn't want to hear about it.
The wedding of Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala was depicted in the 2002 film Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones, the second installment of the Star Wars prequel trilogy.
The scene was shot on a balcony at Villa del Balbianello, the Italian villa that portrayed Varykino in the film.