Changing Last Name Protocol!

Yes, changing your name takes time. While you've got a few months, it's better to not give yourself that short of a window.

You will need to travel under your legal name, so you should change it after the honeymoon if you’re booking now.

5 months should be plenty of time to change your name, but you could always wait. Better safe than sorry I suppose.

Research your state laws and steps for changing your name. We're getting married in April and going on honeymoon in September. I'm changing my name before our trip. There's just a lot of steps to change it that need to be done beforehand. Our travel agent booked my flight under my new married name.

Following!

I mean, my name was completely changed within six weeks - and that includes the small stuff that you don't think of immediately. However, if you want to be completely safe, then wait until after you're back from your honeymoon. Just remember that you have to do all or nothing - you can't start and just do part.

If you are booking your honeymoon now I would wait until after the honeymoon. You don’t want any issues to pop up later

I'd wait until after the honeymoon, especially since you're going out of the country. It will take time to get your new ID, Social, etc. but then it will take time to get a new passport AFTER you've gotten all those other new documents. And going out of the country, I wouldn't risk it. If there was any sort of hangup at all that happened in the middle of the process, you could get stuck somewhere.

Unless you know for sure the turnaround time in your state is less than 2 months to get everything updated, I would: Keep your name now, use your married name in your social circles, and as soon as you're back from the honeymoon, start changing everything legally.

Thank you all so much! As consensus shows, I’m going to wait until after the honeymoon. Thank you!

If it were me, I'd wait until after we got back just to be on the safe side.

This may be different because you have 5 months between your wedding and your honeymoon - but the most common advice I heard (with the honeymoon directly after the wedding) was to wait until you get back to change your last name!

Honestly, getting it changed wasn't that hard, and I had 90% of the paperwork printed and filled out before the wedding so I could get it changed asap

- first things first, you'll change your social security card

- Next up will be your drivers license and passport (I'd go in that order because to change the passport you have to mail in your physical marriage license, so any other name change items that need that paper will be on pause until it gets back)

- if you do change your last name before your honeymoon make sure you have your name changed on the airline account - which usually requires a phone call and an email scan of marriage license or new + old drivers licenses together

How soon will you change your passport? That is what really matters.

Yes, wait. You will also have to change your passport since you are leaving the country and you may not have time to change it on all of your documents and receive your new passport in time.

I would definitely wait to change your name until after the honeymoon. Don't want to cut it that close in case it takes longer than expected.

IMO, save yourself the stress and just do it afterwards. I legally changed my name years ago & it was a process! Why add more to your “to do” list!?

I just got back from my honeymoon and I didn't change my name before. We got married on December 14th, and left on December 27th and we went to Europe. Since I had purchased all of our airline tickets under my maiden name I didn't want to have to go through the process of calling the airlines to change my name just in case something happened. We just got back and I plan to start the process of changing everything now.

Changing your name takes some time fore sure! It would probably be best to wait until y'all get back and aren't stressed about it before the honeymoon!

I would definitely wait till after your honeymoon because your passport might not come on time.

This past Sunday, a lady at church gave me a piece of advice on this very topic. She advised me to have my maiden name on all legal documentation (driver's license, etc.) so that it will be easier to link earlier records (birth certificate, social security number, etc.) to records that will come up later on. For example, she advised me to have my license say: Amber E. MaidenName MarriedName. I had never thought of this before, but she says it will keep me from a lot of headaches, so I'll take her word for it!