Honeymoon and Name Changes

I'm booking everything in my maiden name and then will change it when I get back. Even if you're able to change your name quickly, it'll take a while after that point to get your driver's license and passport(s) updated.

When I made reservations for our cruise they told me to use my maiden name since there was no way everything would be changed over by then. So I will worry about changing my name when I come back from the honeymoon

Hey there, Emma This WeddingWire article is super helpful and has a lot of information on how to navigate this - Should You Change Your Name Before or After Your Honeymoon?

As others have said, I would book everything under your maiden name and then change it after you come back from your honeymoon. My passport took about a month to come back after the name change.

Where are you going? Do you have a passport?

Realistically, you are not going to get your name completely changed on all your legal documents in a few weeks. Airplanes do not accept marriage license as a valid form of ID, so you need to book under your maiden name until you have your new license.

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We're going to Hawaii. I do have a passport. It does seem like booking everything with my maiden name and getting things changed later might be the move here.

I would just book everything honeymoon-related in your maiden name (especially flights) and then change your name when you get home! Much less stressful that way. You can still like, change it on social media and introduce yourself with your married name right away lol. Just don’t change it legally until you’re back.

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So are we, then you have this option (this is what I am doing). Book in your maiden name. Try to change your SSN and drivers license as quickly as possible. If your license comes in before your trip, you can call the airlines and hotels to change your name.

If anything goes wrong, you have your passport with you maiden name as back up. Basically, you will have a license in your married name and a passport in you maiden name, so you should be covered everywhere.

I would wait until you get back. I don’t live in Charlotte, but I live in NC (about an hour north of you), and I’ve been through the name change process. You have to wait approx. 10 days after your wedding to get a certified copy of your marriage license from the clerks office. Then you have to go to the SS office to do the legal change. Then you have to wait about 2 weeks to get your new SS card in the mail before you can even begin to change your name on your ID, banking info, etc. I highly recommend waiting. When flying, you want all of your names to match.