how to change your name after you get married, hitchswitch, dallas wedding, dallas bride

Hello friends! There were several of you who told me you missed my wedding posts, so here's one to fit the bill;) JK I kind of missed them too! I originally planned on posting this sooner, buuuut...you'll see why I haven't. Hopefully this will help you with your name changing process and you can avoid the mistakes I made!

There were several hard parts of wedding planning, but none of them felt like a heavy weight on my shoulders, like changing my name did! And no, it was't a question of "should I change my name or not" (though I did struggle with which names to keep!I ended up keeping all my names, so now I have 2 middle names) ...my struggle was actually finding time to do it. I had all my paperwork ready, right after I got my marriage license back, buuuut it was the start of my busy season, and my boss said I couldn't go. (In his defense, I would probably be gone half a day after waiting at the SS Office and again at the DMV).

Anyway, that was back in NOVEMBER...finally around March, I was like that's it! I have to get my name changed! Or at least I was going to try to - enter Hitch Switch.

Hitch Switch is a company that makes changing your name easier, whether you just need someone to show you the right steps to take, or you need something to save you time - for me, it was a little bit of both! Either way, they swooped in at just the right time!

I went with their platinum package, as that is what made sense for me, but you can choose yours to best fit your needs!

Print at Home: $29, Fill out their form and they fill in all your paper work for you to print at home.

Full Service:$69, Fill out their form and they fill in all your paper work for you and mail it to you, ready to go. All you have to do is sign and send.

Platinum:$89, Fill out their form and they fill in all your paper work for you and mail it to you, ready to go. All you have to do is sign and send. What makes this option different from Full Service, is that you have a Name Change concierge, and it includes your passport update!

The Platinum Package comes in a nice folder with everything ready to go for you, whether it's important documents, or a check list! Here's how it went for me:

April 3rd: Mailed my social security card in to get a new one.

April 12th: Received a letter that I would receive my new social securiry card within the next 2 weeks.

April 18th: Received my new social security card.

April 18th: Went to the DMV to get my new license. They said it would take 2-3 weeks.

April 19th: Mailed off my voter id registration and change of address.

April 26th: Received my new driver's license.

April 27th: Informed my workplace that I had changed my name. Had to provide copies of my Drivers License, Social Security Card, and Marriage license. By alerting work, they changed it in the system, which alerted my insurance company as well, which prompted new insurance cards.

May 2nd: Called the credit card company to get my name changed - they mailed me a form, but also said I could come in, in person and do it.

May 5th: Sent off my passport to have my name updated. They said it would be 4-6 weeks. (expedited takes 3 weeks)

May 30th: Updated car insurance to be on the same plan. (We both kept our own work insurances)

What I still haven't done:

Mailed my passport back in - This was the main mistake I made! I thought it would be okay to use one of my blog photos and "make it work" it didn't. I also didn't have it on photo paper. Within 2 weeks of me sending the passport in, I received a package back. I thought OMG that was super speedy! It wasn't. It was a letter saying that it had been denied due to my photo. I then took a photo specifically for it and had it printed at a drug store. I will mail it in on Tuesday! This next part isn't a mistake, but it is a tricky part. I waited so long to mail my passport in, because I already had plane tickets booked under "Lauren Spann". After this trip, I will have 2 other flights booked under Lauren Spann and will have to go in early to have the name adjusted to match my drivers license. Using my passport has just been easier, because the names match already, but it's time to just get it right!

Updated my credit card - I didn't send in the paperwork, because you have to send in the marriage license. I'd rather go in and do it, which brings me to my next point.

Merged Bank Accounts - You have to go in to merge bank accounts, so I might as well just wait to get my name changed on the credit card. Kill two birds with one stone! We haven't been avoiding this, just haven't had/made time to do it.

Updated Global Entry - This is not part of the Hitchswitch package, but there's no way it really can be. To update this, you have to have your new passport, which I don't have yet, so I can't do it anyway! I asked when I interviewed, and they said you just go in and tell them you need a new name, not new entry, and they get you taken care of quickly! I do have to go to the airport for this, so that's kind of inconvenient, but oh welll...Global entry is worth it! Wonder what GE is and if you need it? Here's a blog post I did on Global Entry and TSA Pre-check, so you can find out if it is right for you!

So yeah, changing your name is actually a lot of work, but Hitchswitch was great and helped me so much on the way. I couldn't recommend them more. The only thing I would have changed about my name changing process, is doing it sooner. You know...before I had already been married for half a year;)

To check out all of their packages and read more about Hitchswitch, click here.

P.S. I got to the DMV (that is usually never crowded) around 3pm and my wait was ALMOST FOUR HOURS! I was trying to get it done before my dentist appointment, but it didn't work out. The only problem was that I was going to get 2 fillings. So...my new license photo has half of my face numb. I will say my DMV is pretty cool, because I was able to leave and get text alerts of where I was in line! I guess there are worse things than a bad photo;)

If you liked this post, you'll probably like my other wedding content on my blog. Check it out!