Bam! To name change or not to name change?!

It sounds like you already know what you want to do, and that's keep your maiden name!!

Of course, this is a super personal decision, and while it is your decision, I would still definitely have a quick convo with your husband and make sure he is on board. However he responds, make sure to hear him out (maybe it's no big deal, or maybe he want to think about the future/kids/etc.) so be prepared for any way this conversation to go. You guys are a united front, whether that's with the same last name, hyphenated, two last names, or a symbol

If it really is just the process being a pain the butt, the easiest way to tackle it is to get ALL your paperwork done and then make a goal to tackle one item per week (or every other week since you have to wait for things to get mailed to you). I think it took me a little over a month to get everything done:

- SSN card first, as you'll need this for other items

- Drivers license + car registration (if it can be done in the same location)

- Credit cards + bank accounts

- Do passport last as they'll want you to mail in your old passport and your physical marriage license, so you'll be on ice with anything else that requires the marriage license as proof until you get it back

- All other accounts (insurance, airline "loyalty" accounts, etc. can be done as you go...I still have a few maiden names out there somewhere I'm sure)

In some states it's a lot harder to change your name if you wait too long after the wedding, so I'd look into that. It was a lot of work to change my name, but I knocked it all out in about a week. I just spent an hour or two per night filling out paperwork & sending stuff in. And my husband helped me. I did have a lot of recognition in my professional life & nonprofit life with my maiden name but people seemed to adjust easily and I just printed new business cards & put a note in my signature for a few months after. It's been 6 months and everyone has adapted to my new name. I couldn't imagine not sharing a name with my husband and our future children, but I did change my maiden name to my middle name (so got rid of my middle name).

If you truly don't want to change your name, then don't, but personally I wouldn't have the deciding factor be the process. Like anything else, it's a pain when you're driving back and forth between SSA and the DMV, but within a couple weeks you'll be done and won't have to deal with it again for the rest of your life. I was a little older and had some professional accomplishments under my maiden name, along with feeling a strong personal attachment to my family name. I ended up legally changing my name and use my maiden name as my middle name and my last name is my husband's. We had a family, and it was also important to me that we all shared a common last name. I'm a teacher and frequently have students with hyphenated last names, and find that the large majority of them only use one name, but then it's a pain because their formal/legal records don't always match the name they actually use and it's hard to search for their name (in email servers, etc.) because even if they use all their names, hyphenated names can be formatted so many different ways. When I got married 32+ years ago, I seriously considered hyphenating, but have always been glad I didn't do it. Good luck figuring out what's right for you!

Congratulations! I knew a Doctor who got married and she decided to keep her maiden name because she said she did not want to go through the hassle. As for me i have been debating on weather I want to hyphenate my name or not.

Congrats! It's definitely personal preference, but I decided to take my husband's last name. I started off by updating my SS and then DL and so forth. The big things left to update is my professional license (pending) and passport. It's a bit of a pain, but if you do decide to change have a scanned copy of your marriage license ready to go - makes the process much easier.

Beautiful photos!! I love the non-traditional dress and your hair is to DIE FOR! *Swoon*

As for a name change. I'm not going to be much help here because I actually want to add FH's last name onto mine (not hyphenated, just two last names) so that I can go by either one or by both depending on the document or occasion. But FH does not care. I wish he did, but when I asked, he said it just didn't matter to him. Ahh, men. So I'm keeping my name for now and eventually (like when we need new passports in 9 years) I will likely tack his name onto the end of mine.

The thing about names is you can be any name you want. People change their names all the time, and it doesn't always have to be on a legal document to make it yours. I mean, legally speaking, yes. Like if you want your official title at work to have a new name, you'd need new documentation. But let's say your name is Sally and you want to be known as Jade at work. Well, you can ask people to call you Jade and they just will. And on paper you'll still be Sally. Does that make sense? Sort of like nicknames. Maybe my legal name is Cherry but everyone calls me Cher. My checks are made out to Cherry but nobody calls me that except for my mom.

Hope this helped and didn't confuse you or make the decision harder! AND CONGRATS!!!

Congratulations on the wedding. You were a stunning bride. As far as the name change, girl I get it. It was a long, strung out pain in the B***! But I also could not imagine not sharing the same last name with my husband. My cousin on the other hand was never given a middle name so she moved her maiden name to her middle name. It truly is a personal preference that you and your now husband should discuss. You can always move your maiden to your middle, hyphenate, have him take your last name, mash them together and give you both a new last name or keep everything as it is. You can also decide to just go by your married last name socially and keep your name as it is legally. There really is no right or wrong way.