Name Change Question

My FI and I have to get passports for our HM. I have heard that the passport and hotel reservations should be under my maiden name because my name won't be changed in time. So, my question is when do you change your name? Is it your maiden name on the marriage license? I'm totally clueless about how to go about changing my name and when I should!

TIA

Re: Name Change Question

Yes, the HM reservations should be in your maiden name (especially the airline tickets). When you get your marriage certificate in the mail (a few weeks after the wedding if your officiant sends it in right away), you'll see that it will have a line indicating your maiden name and (at least on mine) there's a slash mark and my husband's last name (since I took his name).

Once you have the marriage license, the best place to start with the name change IMO is Social Security - I just brought my birth certificate, marriage certificate, and drivers license when I went. Most employers require you to change your name with Social Security before they'll update your name with the payroll department.

For credit card companies, you can just call and request the change and they'll send you your new card. Hope this helps

Re: Name Change Question

Thanks for the info. So, to get started I just let the person who does the marriage license know that I will change my name and then wait to change everything else after I get that in the mail?

Re: Name Change Question

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Posted by MattsBride

Thanks for the info. So, to get started I just let the person who does the marriage license know that I will change my name and then wait to change everything else after I get that in the mail?

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Oh, yes - sorry, I forgot about that part! When you go to get your marriage license, the clerk will give you 3 options: 1) take your FH's name; 2) keep your name; or 3) hyphenate. You just pick one and they'll issue you a marriage LICENSE, which is just the state giving you two permission to get married. What you need to wait for is the marriage CERTIFICATE, which is what the officiant signs (along with 2 witnesses) on the wedding day.

Re: Name Change Question

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Posted by jenniesunshine

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Posted by MattsBride

Thanks for the info. So, to get started I just let the person who does the marriage license know that I will change my name and then wait to change everything else after I get that in the mail?

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Oh, yes - sorry, I forgot about that part! When you go to get your marriage license, the clerk will give you 3 options: 1) take your FH's name; 2) keep your name; or 3) hyphenate. You just pick one and they'll issue you a marriage LICENSE, which is just the state giving you two permission to get married. What you need to wait for is the marriage CERTIFICATE, which is what the officiant signs (along with 2 witnesses) on the wedding day.

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Thank you so much!!

Re: Name Change Question

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Posted by MattsBride

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Posted by jenniesunshine

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Posted by MattsBride

Thanks for the info. So, to get started I just let the person who does the marriage license know that I will change my name and then wait to change everything else after I get that in the mail?

---

Oh, yes - sorry, I forgot about that part! When you go to get your marriage license, the clerk will give you 3 options: 1) take your FH's name; 2) keep your name; or 3) hyphenate. You just pick one and they'll issue you a marriage LICENSE, which is just the state giving you two permission to get married. What you need to wait for is the marriage CERTIFICATE, which is what the officiant signs (along with 2 witnesses) on the wedding day.

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Thank you so much!!

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No problem! Also, if you want to try to be fancy (like me) and keep your maiden name as your middle name, I just made that change at the Social Security office. Sometimes they won't let you do that (just drop your middle name) but I got lucky and the woman at Social Security was really nice. I was dreading having to go through the hassle of going to court to request the name change!