I will be getting married in July to a wonderful man, and am so excited, but I can't figure out what I want to do about changing my last name. I'm a singer, more specifically about to start a masters program in opera performance, and am gradually trying to make a start for my career. The name on a billboard is can be very important. I love my maiden name in full and also my middle name, and have been told by numerous people that my name is very good for the performance world. The problem is that I'm also pretty old fashioned, and my family is as well, and I would like to find the best option. Just by luck though, my Fiance's last name complicates matters. We are a bi-racial couple and his last name is very true to his origin and is also pretty long. Hyphening is not really an option.
I see a lot of reasons why people don't change their last names when they have already built their profession upon their maiden names, but I'm just starting to enter the professional world. Would it be best to change my last name and make sure to market with my maiden name or keep my maiden name?
Also as a side note, if (and probably when) we do have kids I only want there to be one last name (his) and keep the feeling of cohesiveness. Sorry for the long post, please give me your opinion.
Thanks!