Booked Flight, but *One* of our surnames may change before the ceremony..

You won't be able to get on a flight (at least in Canada) if you're ID doesn't match the booking name.

@ Mrs. Fall Bride: Thats the thing though, we would need his new last name on the marriage certificate in order for both of us to have the same last name and to be legally wed, right?

Or should we just not get the official wedding paperwork until after we return from the honeymoon?

@ Jacks: Right, but we would still have our original ids and passports.. would that matter if he got his last name changed, but didnt get a new id?

I don't know. I'd page Celia on this, as an officiant, she would know.

I would assume if his ID doesn't match his booking ticket, he will have trouble getting a boarding pass.

The names you booked under should be the names you currently have . It takes a while to get your updated documents after your wedding. The first document being your Marriage certificate. You need that before you can go to the DMV and social security office . So plan on using your maiden name until everything is legally switched over . I speaking from. My own personal experience. I was married once before .

I think you probably need to reach out to the airlines and see about changing the name once that is done. Look into what you need for a marriage license, but when I got mine, We both needed our drivers licenses with our names. So your FH will need to change his name and then get a new drivers license for you both to get the marriage license. I just got a new drivers license and when I did they punched a hole in my old one, making it invalid. So then he would only have the new drivers license to use. I could be wrong though.

Now, if he has a passport, that won't have the name change on it until you go through that process, so it's possible to use that and not change it with the airlines, but personally, I would find that risky since his name will have been legally changed.

If you don't change your driver's license, there shouldn't be an issue.

But you can also call the airline to get the names changed on the flight. They're usually understanding of stuff like this.

Even though the name is on the marriage certificate, as long as you don't change it with the social security office/DMV etc you should be fine. I don't plan on starting this process until after the honeymoon.

As others have said just don't change the name on the passport or drivers license, so while that's not legally still his name it will match. I lost my ID like 3 years after my first marriage and had never changed my passport over. I booked several work flights in my maiden name and just flew with my passport instead of my ID. I had no issues.

Wouldn't you actually need an ID with the new last name in order to get a marriage certificate with that last name? I would assume that's why you were required to do the surname change process before applying for your marriage license

Your name has to match. I had trouble this summer going on vacation to Jamaica because I did not put my middle name on the ticket. The name on all your documents has to match exactly. Luckily Jetblue was able add my middle name.

I would wait until after you get back.

I would wait until you got back. I was considering changing my name before our honeymoon (we delayed a few months). Airline said it would be $150 to change the name on the ticket.

Your situation is a bit unique since your FH is legally changing his name. Did the clerk say there would be enough time to do it before you got your marriage license? I legally changed my name (it's been quite a few years) and the process took months to go through. Like 5 months. It's not as simple as when you get married.

Just keep your old ID, as long as it's still valid. I did exactly this, and flew with my maiden name earlier this month.

My mother worked as a travel agent for years so I was always hearing about similar situations. Your passport MUST match the names booked on your tickets. You can do name changes on the tickets by calling the airlines but it can be costly. You would also need to change the names on your accommodation if your ids have changed.

Since FH hubby and I are flying to Aruba for the honeymoon I decided to wait and change my last name when I got back. We're getting married in Nov but having our honeymoon in May, probably would be fine but didn't want to risk it

My maiden name is on the marraige certificate, you change it after at the SS office.

Just wait...

Do you both already have passports that weight be expired by the time you're gong on your honeymoon? If so, you can travel with those and be fine. If not, save the name change for after your wedding. You can probably do a name change when you get back. I had a friend who got married and she couldn't decide what to do with her name for like a month after she got married and she gaff no problem Changing her name then.

You need to learn more about this process. My guess is that after the legal name change you will just have documents staying you legally have a new name, which your FI would then have to take in to get new IDs. So the old IDs would still work for your trip because they will have the name booked under.

I would change both of your names after the wedding just so you don't have to worry about it. It will probably be more expensive (usually there's no fee to change a name due to marriage, I think), but worth it for peace of mind.