Traveling after you say I Do

Though more women are opting to keep their maiden name after marriage the knot reports that roughly 80% still take their new husband's last name.   I can say from experience that the name change process can be exhausting and seem never ending.   I recently celebrated my one-year anniversary and I admit I am still working on changing my last name on things.   I do have a few tips for newlyweds to help with traveling after you say I do.

#1 - Do not book your honeymoon with your new last name.   It can take much longer than you think to get important things like your passport changed so for the honeymoon please make reservations with the name as it appears on your current ID.  Your travel agent can note that you are celebrating your honeymoon so you won't miss out on any of the special Mr and Mrs moments.  Most destinations expect that honeymooners will not have the same last name on reservations yet.  
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#2 - Start with the big ones first.  You cannot change your passport until you change your social security card.  Once you have those 2 life gets easier.  

#3 - Airline Frequent Flier and Hotel rewards programs are more work than you would think.  I thought these would be an easy log into my account and update my profile, but no they are almost as hard as changing your passport.   I have read that some women choose to just lose anything they accumulated to just start over with a new account since it was easier than doing all the things required just to change your last name.  Take a look at what you have saved up and decide which makes more sense for you.   I am the type of person that signs up for any and all rewards programs so I think there will be some where I really haven't earned much so I will just let it go.   

#4 - Make lots of copies of your marriage certificate as you are going to need it more than you think.

#5 - Don't try to change everything at once.   Depending on how many things you have set up in your previous last name you could get overwhelmed with all the places that require changing.   Some things can wait and be changed on an as needed basis so don't stress about it too much.
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#6 - Make plans to break in that shiny new passport!
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