LIVINGSTON (AP) -- David Gaynor found out he was married when his father called from Montana to tell him.

''Hey, you're married,'' Philip Gaynor told his son across the world.

The young Gaynor tied the knot to his pregnant Italian bride Ilaria in Montana even though neither of them were in the state.

The union was called a double-proxy marriage, meaning even though David was on active duty in Iraq, and Ilaria was stranded in Italy, they were able to exchange vows with the help of David's parents.

Rebecca and Philip Gaynor, at the Kalispell city courthouse, stood in as proxies for the couple.

''It wasn't an easy process,'' Philip Gaynor said. ''Knowing that your son couldn't be there for himself.''

Montana is the only place in the world that legally allows such an alliance.

After David and Ilaria got hitched in 2003, the story spread internationally and couples with no ties to Montana began following their lead, Rep. Deb Kottel, D-Great Falls, said.

The state, in a sense, has become the Las Vegas of absent bride-and-groom marriages.

Kottel sponsored a bill in the 2007 Legislature to limit double-proxy marriages in Montana so that one person would have to be either on active duty with the military or a resident of Montana. The bill has passed the House and Senate and was sent to Gov. Brian Schweitzer for his signature today.

As the law stands, people who have no relation to Montana, are costing the state hundreds of hours in staff time, which translates into tax dollars, she said.

A person from China and a citizen of Germany can get married here without ever stepping foot in Montana, she said.

A marriage license costs $53 in Montana, whether absent or not. Taxpayers should not have to foot the bill for the extra money proxy marriages incur, if they aren't a resident of Montana or serving in the military, Kottel said.

Kalispell Municipal Judge Heidi Ulbricht said within the past year she has presided over about 100 double-proxy marriages brought to the court by Kalispell attorney Dean Knapton -- the same lawyer who helped David and Ilaria wed several years before.

After the Gaynor wedding, Geller S&B of Pennsylvania, a company specializing in proxy marriages, contacted Knapton to, well, marry him to clients who wanted to be husband and wife, but couldn't attend the wedding, he said.

Part owner of the company, Barbara Geller, said changing the law is ''totally deplorable.''

Her husband, and the company's co-owner, Sam Geller said, ''It's just totally against everything Montana stands for.''

In about 90 percent of the couples referred to Knapton, one of the pair is in the military.

''If it wasn't for the state of Montana doing this double proxy, I would have never been able to see my wife or my kid,'' David Gaynor said during a recent interview.

David and Ilaria were planning on getting married when he was sent to Iraq. The military wouldn't allow David to visit his pregnant girlfriend because they weren't married. But, with the help of Montana's marriage law, he was able to visit her in Italy before she had their first child.

He also wanted her to get the medical benefits from the military that come with marriage, Gaynor said.

A better solution than a stricter law would be to charge more for double-proxy marriages and bring more revenue into the state, Gaynor said.

''Create jobs, and raise the price,'' Gaynor said. ''Make it worth the paperwork.''

Even though the Gaynors' marriage would still be allowed under the new law, he said the Legislature should leave the option open to people who might be working abroad or have other reasons why they need a speedy marriage.

''What is our Legislature doing thinking about this when there are other, more important issues to be taken care of?'' he asked.

His father said: ''It just seems like something that the state of Montana can do and nobody else can. We ought to be proud of that.''

Knapton had a similar response.

''I'm puzzled why it would come to any legislator's attention,'' he said. ''Personally, I think it's a marvelous law and there are a whole lot of grateful people,'' he said.