Weddings are a wonderful opportunity for two people in love to join together. While this might be the basic idea, there are a lot of other concepts involved with a marriage. Once you and your partner have decided to get married, you probably are going to start planning the ceremony. There are caterers to call, venues to explore, invitations to write, and stress to be felt. With so much going on, you might not have the time to think about things like your last name.

Traditionally, a bride would take the last name of her groom after a wedding. Nowadays, this is not exactly the norm. Being in a same-sex relationship can also complicate matters in regards to who will be taking which last name. While the ultimate decision is going to be up to you and your significant other, there are considerations. Keep this advice in mind in regards to changing your name and see what you can learn about your options.

Legal Name Issues

The bureaucratic world moves at such a slow pace that it often does not even look like it is moving. This has always been the case, but it seems quite absurd in the current day and age. In fact, almost all other industries have gotten the hang of the “immediate gratification” aspect of the modern world, while government agencies are responding slower than ever before. This is easy to see in a wedding situation. You might have applied to have your name legally changed long before your wedding, but that doesn’t mean you’ll see results soon.

In many cases, you are likely to be home from your honeymoon and looking through albums of wedding photos long before you get any of your legal documents with your new last name. This means your license and passport could take a significant amount of time to update. You might want to change your name immediately on social media or in personal correspondence, but remember you are most likely going to have to wait to see your name updated on the right pieces of identification.

Everyone’s a Critic

While it might be a pain in the back to have to wait a few weeks to get your updated license or passport, it is going to seem like a walk in the park compared to other industries. Changing your name on documents you have already signed can be a nightmare. This does not exclusively refer to important contracts, either. Some people have experienced a lot of stress over trying to change a name on something as insignificant as a cable bill. This happens to all couples, straight and gay, and seems to be par for the course.

If you do not want to deal with this kind of annoyance, there are some easy ways around the stress. Some couples find that it is much easier to just keep their former names on bills and older contracts. Updating your passport and license can be practical moves, but you really might not want to bother with the trouble of changing the name that the electric company refers to you as when you’re logging on its website to pay a bill.

Marital Bliss

Getting married to the person you love is supposed to be a happy occasion. To keep it that way, you are going to want to think long and hard about how to avoid stress. Remember that changing your name is a choice, but it is one that you have to commit to. If you really want to change your name, then stay on top of how to get the ball rolling and remember to have a lot of patience throughout the process.