Montana is the only state that allows a double-proxy wedding, meaning both sides can be no-shows. Kalispell began taking advantage of this quirk about five years ago, when a soldier from Montana, serving in Iraq, wanted to marry his pregnant Italian girlfriend. The soldier’s family asked a lawyer to research a rumor that Montana allowed double-proxy weddings. The answer, to his surprise, was yes.
The law had been on Montana's books for several decades, perhaps to accommodate soldiers during World War II, some theorize.
The law requires that one party in a double-proxy marriage be either a Montana resident or a member of the armed forces on active duty. These marriages are recognized in every state but Iowa.
The cost to the real, albeit absent, bride and groom: $900, of which $50 apiece goes to the proxies, $100 to the judge, $150 to the lawyer-witness; $53 for court fees; $14 for two certified copies of the marriage certificate. The rest goes to a Pennsylvania couple who run a business facilitating proxy marriages.
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