Proxy Marriage

One of our lawyers ended up attending a wedding in place of the groom.

The matter involved a couple formed by a Russian citizen and a Spanish citizen who, due to personal, immigration and geopolitical circumstances, were unable to marry in person through the usual channels.

Their intention to marry was clear. The challenge was finding a legally valid way to make it possible when one of the future spouses could not be physically present in Spain.

The solution was to use a rarely seen legal mechanism: marriage by proxy.

To make it work, we had to prepare a specific power of attorney, coordinate Spanish and foreign documentation and ensure that all legal requirements were met so that the marriage could be validly celebrated despite the absence of one of the parties.

On the day of the ceremony, one of our lawyers appeared in his place and acted, under that power of attorney, on behalf of the absent future spouse.

It was an unusual legal solution, but a fully valid one and, in those circumstances, probably the only realistic way for the couple to move forward.

Beyond the legal complexity, the matter had a very human side. Two people wanted to marry and build a life together, but found themselves separated by borders, immigration restrictions and a particularly difficult international context.

Our role was to find a legal route through those obstacles and turn what initially looked like an impossible situation into a workable solution.