Name change timing?

AmyNoelle

My original plan was to change my name and take FI's last name pretty much right after the wedding.  Then a friend of mine suggested I wait until after the honeymoon to make travelling easier considering we're flying.

I just wondered when any of you did or plan to do your name change relative to your wedding?

mlynn1223

I'm doing mine right after the wedding because we have to do it in Michigan before I can change everything back in AZ.  My ticket will be in my maiden name but so will my ID until I get back even though legally I would have changed by name at that point.  If you change your name but wait to change your license and passport you will be fine to travel.  You should book your tickets in your maiden name since you will need your license and/or passport to checkin.  It really depends on when your honeymoon is.  If it is right after the wedding then you can do it either way just wait until you get back to update everything.  The most important thing is that everything matches.  If your tickets are in your maiden name then your ID also has to be.  

acaponi87

I'm doing mine after our honeymoon. Plane tickets and passport are both in my maiden name.

Meegles4

If you are going on an immediate, or relatively immediate, honeymoon you should wait. You'll book everything in your maiden name (airline tix, etc.) and if you change your name before flying you won't match your tickets.

If you aren't taking a honeymoon for a few months (and don't plan to book anything before you change you name), then sure...change it right after the wedding.

FWIW, it does take a bit of work to change your name. You have to get a certified copy of the marriage license, go to social security and change that, and then go to the SOS and change your drivers license. Also, if you're travelling internationally, you'll need a new passport, which takes time.

AmyNoelle

Awesome, thanks girls.  I just wanted to make sure that it wasn't strange to wait a few weeks (since my honeymoon is two weeks after the wedding but already booked) to change my name!

Meegles4

I know people who still haven't gotten around to it, and have been married nearly a year. Just because you intend to change it, and thus write your new name on the marriage license, doesn't mean you have to jump right on it.

larzhope

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_michigan-detroit_name-change-timing?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:88Discussion:8b1f535d-f923-43c9-af14-21cf721edf20Post:358e9392-6dcc-4600-8af5-34c4e959283a">Re: Name change timing?</a>:
[QUOTE]I'm doing mine right after the wedding because we have to do it in Michigan before I can change everything back in AZ.  My ticket will be in my maiden name but so will my ID until I get back even though legally I would have changed by name at that point.  If you change your name but wait to change your license and passport you will be fine to travel.  You should book your tickets in your maiden name since you will need your license and/or passport to checkin.  It really depends on when your honeymoon is.  If it is right after the wedding then you can do it either way just wait until you get back to update everything.  The most important thing is that everything matches.  If your tickets are in your maiden name then your ID also has to be.  
Posted by mlynn1223[/QUOTE]

Sorry Mlynn... your post is totally confusing to me.... why do you have to do it in Michigan?  You can go to the Social Security office anywhere, you just need a certified copy of your marriage license.... I got married in Michigan, left on my honeymoon the morning after the wedding, ordered a certified copy of my marriage license online during my honeymoon so it would be waiting for me when I got back to Seattle.  Went to the social security office in Seattle the day after my honeymoon and changed my name... went to the dmv the next day to change my license.  Nothing had to be done in Michigan at all...

Milsey32

I changed it after the HM, when I found the time to wait around at all the multiple places (social security office, secretary of state, and USPS for a new passport)... Really, it made things easier to just get my maiden name on all travel arrangements. 

MMRoberts11

I'm waiting until December because that's when my license expires and I don't want to pay for it twice.  Beyond that, it would mess up my financial aid for school.  If it wouldn't matter I'd wait until after we got back from the HM before changing anything to, as others have said, make things easier.