Lt. Thomas Cogan IV, 23, tied the knot with bride Theresa Arnold at the San Diego County clerk's office, in the US.

The ceremony is believed to be California's first marriage-by-proxy since Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger changed the law on Friday to allow servicemen in the field to wed in this manner.

Smiling 23-year-old Theresa - who is pregnant with a baby girl and due any day - wore a pink flowered dress for the wedding on Saturday.

A family friend stood in for Cogan, whose parents and two sisters travelled from Philadelphia to attend.

Superior Court Judge Jan Goldsmith - who officiated the wedding - said: "It is fitting that this marriage is between Tommy and Theresa, two individuals whose love transcends a war and changed the course of California history.

"It's going to help plenty of people, plenty of other military families."