Saturday 2 March 2013

Wedding Planning: Name Change!?


Yesterday I eagerly went to the post office to pick up this personalized wedding dress hanger that I ordered from the Etsy shop MyAmberColouredWorld. I love getting stuff in the mail. It's so fun to get something nice in the mail not just advertising and bills! I have always loved Etsy and over the years have ordered a few things from it. It's really great for those special wedding details, which I'm all about.

So about the hanger ... I have not yet decided on a name change. I like these hangers and have seen them on many blogs, namely Style Me Pretty. I think it's a sweet personal touch to the getting ready photos so I went ahead and ordered it. Whether or not I change my name, it'll be fun to be Mrs. _____ for a day! The fiance thinks the hanger is super cute but does not care whether or not I take this name. I am not sure what I want to do. I initially was not going to change my name since my name has some cultural significance to me and it's simply MY name. I'm not sure if that matters so much anymore since my first name, well middle name (Bola) is also VERY Nigerian. My first name is actually Marilyn which some of my friends still don't know. I also think that it would be nice to take his name namely because it would be nice to have the same surname as my children one day. I also REALLY love his last name! On the other hand, it's a huge pain to change your name, getting all your legal documents changed but I'm sure if it ever means that much to me I'll go ahead and do it. A compromise that I am considering is hyphenating my name but then it would be super long!! Then there's the other question about whether to change my name professionally. Many of my colleagues that have recently married have changed their surnames but not professionally. I already get tired of writing out my name and then my credentials when making referrals and signing legal documents at work (like consent forms). I can't imagine making it any longer!!

What are your thoughts? Are you or would you ever change your last name?

~B 

4 comments:

Shannon said...

Personally my sweet, I would adopt his last name legally and keep my last name for work (unless my future husband had a rockin 'teacher lastname'! Lol). But in the end, do whatever feels right...as you always do ;) xo

Shybiker said...

Changing one's name upon marriage is a complex issue with a long history. When I was young, half a century ago, all brides changed their names, automatically. Then, in the 70's, women started to keep their maiden-names as a protest against patriarchy. Then, later on, brides didn't feel the need to do that any more so now anything is possible.

Do what makes you happy. My wife Robin, who was a mature, feminist woman with a career when we married in 2001, decided to adopt my last name and she says now it was the right choice for her. Follow your instinct.

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