Map Shows States Where You Can Get Married Without Your Spouse

In several states, it is legal for a couple to get married with only one partner present at the ceremony, a practice known as proxy marriage.

Proxy marriages are not very common in the United States, but they do occur from time to time. They are typically performed when one partner is in the military and is unable to attend the ceremony in person because they have been deployed overseas.

During a proxy marriage, the partner who is unable to attend the wedding is typically represented by another person, their proxy, for the legal marriage ceremony.

Presently, the practice is only allowed in four states, though if a couple moves, these marriages are typically recognized in other states.

Colorado, Kansas, Montana, and Texas allow proxy marriages in some circumstances, though specific details of proxy marriage laws vary from state to state.

In Colorado, proxy marriages are legal when the absent party is either a member of the U.S. armed forces stationed overseas or in another state, a government contractor, or an employee of a government contractor working in support of the armed forces. The absent party must authorize the proxy in writing.

Montana also allows proxy marriages.

"If a party to a marriage is unable to be present at the solemnization, the party may authorize in writing a third person to act as proxy. If the person solemnizing the marriage is satisfied that the absent party is unable to be present and has consented to the marriage, the person may solemnize the marriage by proxy," Montana's solemnization law reads.

The law notes that the person in the relationship must be "a member of the armed forces of the United States on federal active duty or a resident of Montana at the time of application for a license and certificate."

Montana also allows double proxy marriages, in which both members of a relationship are represented by proxies, for residents and members of the armed forces.

In Texas, proxy marriages are allowed only if the absent person is a member of the armed forces who is stationed abroad and is, therefore, unable to attend the ceremony, the law states.

Kansas also allows the practice, dating back to a 1980 decision by then-Attorney General Robert T. Stephan, who said the practice is legal, noting there is no statute in the state's law that renders proxy marriages illegal.

"In conclusion, in the absence of statutory or case law prohibition, marriages in which one party is represented by a proxy at the time of the ceremony are legal in Kansas," he wrote.

According to Weddings by Proxy, an Overland Park-based chapel that performs proxy marriages, Kansas law allows for proxy weddings for residents who want to marry someone who is a non-resident of the United States, as well as for individuals wanting to get married to a person who is incarcerated and cannot attend the legal ceremony.