Marriage By Proxy

Sargeant Ryan Thompson and US Army Specialist Barbara Hines were married in the western US state of Montana on January 16. While there’s nothing unusual about that, neither Sgt. Thompson or Specialist Hines were actually there. Thompson is stationed in Iraq and Hines is currently posted to Afghanistan. Their wedding is the first known double-proxy wedding in the United States although the law that allows it dates back to the 19th century and was originally created for miners who married “mail-order” brides from the East Coast of the United States.

Only three US states allow marriage by proxy, but two require either the bride or the groom to be present. Montana is the only state that allows double-proxy weddings, as long as one member of the couple is a state resident or a member of the Armed Forces.

The Montana National Guard, which performed the ceremony, asked a married couple to stand in for Thompson and Hines and exchange vows on their behalf. After the wedding, Montana National Guard members in attendance shared a wedding cake to honor the newlyweds-in-absentia.

Thompson and Hines have each been married once before… to each other. The couple have a son, but divorced in 2003. According to a Montana National Guard spokesperson, Thompson and Hines married very young, and after their divorce remained in contact with each other. They feel they’ve matured a lot and want to give marriage a second chance.

Keywords: Wedding News, Weddingblog, Wedding

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