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

Wait until you get back. We got married in July and I'm not changing my name until next when all of our upcoming air travel is over with.

I understand the appeal of waiting until after the honeymoon, I do, but the issue is that the FH would have to get the new last name before we try to apply for the marriage certificate in the first place.

Otherwise, both of us would have to get a court order name change after we are wed in order to both have the new last name.

Just go with the court order name change and do it after your honeymoon.

Your flights have to match what is on your passports. If you change before the honeymoon (which is cutting it seriously close at this point) you will have to get all new passports. I found this out recently when I went to book the flights for our honeymoon. I was told that I have to make sure it matches my passport.

You can change his name at the same time you change yours. Is the issue that you don't want his original last name on it at all?

I fly all the time. When I was changing my name back I used my old valid DL.. No one cared

So it's kind of sounding like the way to go is.. have the ceremony sans certificate, do the honeymoon, then apply for a certificate and do a courthouse wedding in order to avoid airline trouble and a double court order name change?

Does he not have a passport?

We got our marriage license and filed it immediately. I didn't change my name until after our honeymoon and kept all flights booked in my maiden name (which matched my then license and passport). When you get back, you can go to sSA and change your name, using the marriage license as proof of change. The license doesn't automatically change your name. You have to either mail it or physically bring it to social security. I know people who wait months or sometimes a year before they take the license to SSA to change your name. Make sure all reservations are booked in the. Ames you have now and it won't be an issue.

All of our honeymoon documents have my maiden name. We leave 10 days after the wedding and I would never risk it.

@ bobbileighba: .. Yeah he has one, and so do I.

@JGCT: But would we have to have his new last name on the certificate in order for both of us to have it after the certificate is sumbitted? Thats the main issue, we are trying to acvoid BOTH of us getting the court order name change, since they didnt allow us to have the last name of out choosing when we went to apply for a certificate yesterday. (we ended up not filing it for this reason)

If your marriage license requires you to show ID, he will need to have an updated ID with his new name, I would guess.

In which case, it wouldn't match the reservations anymore, would it?

He can use a passport for domestic flights and ID, so if he has a passport, he can always use that and not change that.

Maybe you can call someone at SSA then. I don't know how it works for having a man change his name and if he can do it utilizing a marriage license. For ours, my new last name wasn't on the license and I didn't write that on a form until I filled out the SSA paperwork. I would hope that men can use a marriage license to change their name the same way a woman can. If not that's a shame, especially now since marriage is equal. I think couples are doing this quite often now and I can't believe it would be that many hoops to jump through.

If his new name had to be on the license, have him change it asap and then just change DL and ssa card asap. The new card takes about 10-14 business days to come in. This way you can then get your license with his new name (he'll need a DL and SSA card for proof of identity) Just keep a current passport or shoot even old DL for him until after the hm. As long as one of those matches he should be able to travel. I haven't change my passport yet and actual have a old drivers license too. Wish it were easier for you guys!

Your id has to match booking name

If you are traveling with a passport, then yes, it will render it useless and you will have to get a new passport. I went to renew mine and the lady asked me when I was getting married. I said Oct, and she asked when the honeymoon is, I said December. She handed my application back to me and told me to renew after my name was changed and not before because I would have to pay for a whole new passport. So we have the paperwork to change my name ready and the moment it is processed I am getting a new passport.

Tickets are easier because they understand that people get married and change names. Work with the customer service department of the airline and you should be fine on that account.