by Carol Gioia

Created on: July 30, 2009

Being married by proxy means one (or sometimes both) of the persons is unavailable for the ceremony. A stand-in, with power of attorney, represents the missing bride or groom

Recorded history of marriage by proxy dates back to the early 1400's. Royal families used the practice to increase the power or wealth of their countries. Often the bride and groom were not acquainted and the arranged marriage had been contracted before birth, or in their childhood.

Betrothal was not sufficient to guarantee the individual was off the market, so a proxy marriage was performed to ensure the future reigning power, or to obtain the dowry that often came with the marriage. Arthur, Prince of Wales and Katherine of Aragon are two examples of prominent figures in history with proxy marriages.

Proxy marriage gained popularity in the early 1900's when Picture Brides from Japan and Korea migrated to Hawaii and Angel Island in California. The initial immigrant population from those countries was predominantly single males. The men would send a photograph of themselves back to their homeland to solicit a wife. With the combined efforts of a matchmaker and the girl's family, young women would have a suitable groom chosen for them from the pictures and a contract would be drafted.

This practice ended two decades later, when the United States passed the Immigration Act of 1924, making it more difficult for Asians to obtain U.S. citizenship or own property.

In 1987 a novel titled, "Picture Bride," by Yoshiko Uchida recounted the fictional story of a picture bride married to a man in San Francisco in 1917. In 1994 a movie by the same title, "Picture Bride" was released (unrelated to Uchida's novel) telling the story of the Japanese picture bride of a Hawaiian plantation owner. Both of these literary works give a glimpse into the phenomenon of proxy marriages, picture brides, and the lives of those who entered into these arrangements.

Since the 20th century marriage by proxy has only been used to accomodate military members on active duty.

An unusual example of a modern-day proxy marriage is the "space wedding" in 2003 between a woman in Texas and cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko who was aboard the International Space Station.

Currently, proxy marriages are legal in these states: California, Colorado, Texas, Kansas and Montana. Montana is the only state that allows double proxy marriages.

California made proxy marriage legal in 2004, but it is only available to members of the military.

Although proxy marriage is not legal in all states, legal precedence dictates these marriages have to be recognized as common-law-marriages.

Mexico and Paraguay both offer proxy marriage for a fee.

Proxy marriages are usually expensive and not always legal. In a particular state, the laws can vary from county to county. By checking the laws of your state and seeking the advice of an attorney, with broad knowledge and expertise in marriage law, you can determine if a proxy marriage would be legal and binding and under what extenuating circumstances it would be allowed.

Source: marriagebyproxy.com

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