KALISPELL, Mont., March 10 (UPI) -- Two Montanans repeatedly take marriage vows without the benefit of divorce, but they aren't polygamists; they are proxies for absent brides and grooms.

Montana is the only state that allows a double-proxy wedding, meaning both sides can be no-shows. Kalispell, Mont., began taking advantage of this quirk about five years ago, when a native son serving in Iraq wanted to marry his pregnant girlfriend, The New York Times (NYSE:NYT) reported.

Some research by lawyer Dean Knapton and -- viola! -- Friday afternoon nuptials were born.

The law had been on Montana's books for several decades, perhaps to accommodate soldiers during World War II, some theorize.

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.