Name Change Advice

Looking for name change advice or some tips for newlywed life? The MissNowMrs experts have created state-specific name change articles and checklists for you. We’ve chronicled our recommendations for how to travel while changing your name AND how to handle voting during the transition.

We’ve also compiled our best guidance for how to handle difficult sister in laws, holidays as newlyweds, the ever-annoying baby questions, and much more. Why? Because, while we are name change experts, we’re also newlywed wives, moms, and sisters.

We hope our name change advice articles help smooth your transition to your new name, and a whole new phase of life. Congratulations and best wishes from the entire MissNowMrs team!

4 Indoor Newlywed Activities To Do When It’s FREEZING!

Looking for newlywed indoor activities? No matter how hot your newlywed love may be it is FREEZING outside! The approaching winter storm may end up canceling your weekend plans…leaving you stuck at home. Not to worry! Here are 4 activities to keep you from climbing the walls this weekend.

1. Movie Marathon – Start with your wedding video (awww) and then alternate between your #1 favorite movie and your spouses’ #1 favorite movie and #2 and so on. The mix may be amusing (ex: Breakfast at Tiffanys followed by Naked Gun), but you’ll learn more about each other and get to cuddle on the couch all day! *Don’t forget to stock up on popcorn and movie treats.

2. Feather Your Nest- You know all the projects you keep meaning to do around the house? Things like replacing handles, hanging shelves and painting accent walls? Make the most of being homebound and bang out your house to-do list. It may require a few trips to Home Deport or Lowes prior to the storm, but when the snow finally melts you’ll be finished with your indoor projects and have more time to spend enjoying the spring weather.

3. Be Kids for the Day – Sleep in, eat pop tarts, watch cartoons and then pull out board games and video games to wile away the afternoon in your PJs. Disconnecting from all of your adult worries and stresses can make for an incredibly fun adventure at home.

4. Plan Your Next Vacation – There’s nothing better to counteract arctic temperatures than researching tropical destinations! Consider doing your research separately and then sharing your top locations and ideas over tropical cocktails. You’ll find out exactly what each of you looks for in a vacation from location to activities to the type of resort. Added bonus: you’ll be ahead of other vacationers when it comes to booking discounted flights and travel deals!

What indoor newlywed activities are keeping you busy this winter? We’d love for you to share them in a comment!

The Bride Box: Everything A Bride Could Want & More

The Bride Box has created a new category for the wedding industry. A monthly subscription box for brides to be that delivers curated wedding boxes to help prepare for the wedding & celebrate being engaged! The Bride Box works with both hand crafted and national wedding vendors to bring the best in bridal directly to the doorstep of each one of our subscribers. It’s like having a bridal show in a box, or the bridal version of Birch Box! What woman, bride or otherwise, doesn’t love receiving a box of novelties each month?

How Does It Work?
Subscribe to a month-to-month recurring plan or a 6 or 12 month prepaid plan. Or give a subscription to the bride-to-be in your life (you will hands down be the best bridesmaid, Mother In Law or married friend). Towards the end of each month a new box will arrive, filled with wedding goodies and DIY projects that prepare you to be one step closer to the big day! Examples of items included in a box include: beauty products, bride monogrammed bags, a DIY wedding craft and discounts for key bridal retailers/services such as the MissNowMrs Name Change Service.

In our digital world, they help subscribers literally feel and enjoy the items they envision for their big day. Our mission is to help inspire brides by discovering new ideas, trying out DIY projects, and find new resources to help them on the road to “I Do”. Have you tried The Bride Box or gifted it to an engaged friend? We would love to hear about your experiences in a comment.

What’s In A Name?

Newlywed and considering changing your name? There are so many decisions that come along with “I do”. Things like whose insurance to merge under, where to live, whether to combine all of your finances, which family you celebrate which holiday with and of course whether to change your name or not. It’s completely understandable to be overwhelmed by the concept of name change after marriage, especially with all of the extra decisions that must be made as newlyweds.

Take some time to consider what your maiden name means to you. Does your maiden name roll off your tongue and remind you of your heritage and various degrees and accomplishments you’ve made? Does it make you feel proud and define your sense of “you”? If so, you should consider keeping your maiden name in some way if you decide to change your name after marriage. You have the option to hyphenate your maiden name with your spouse’s last name, take both last names sans hyphen, take your maiden name as a second middle name or replace your middle name with your maiden name (which is an added bonus for those with horrid middle names).

Conversely, if you think about your maiden name and remember being mercilessly teased as a child or being a the very end of the alphabet and called last for everything you may have extra incentive to change your name to your spouse’s last name and drop your maiden name completely. Some women see married name change as a tangible way to show that they’re “all in” in their marriage.
Regardless of the factors that influence the decision, name change after marriage is a very personal and permanent decision. Consider playing the Married Name Game to have its patent-pending algorithm generate your ideal married name change combination!

5 Reasons to Take Your New Married Name in the New Year

Ready to take your new married name in the New Year? We’re twelve days into January, and sadly many newlyweds’ New Year’s resolutions are already falling by the wayside. Did you resolve to change your maiden name after getting married? That’s one resolution that should be easy to keep and there are many benefits to changing to your married name in the beginning of the year.

Take Advantage of Available Options – Not all states allow all variations of married name change (ex: Ohio doesn’t allow maiden to middle name change). If plan to change your name, the sooner you begin the transition, the more options you’ll have as most states make legislature changes in early spring. It would be terrible to decide upon a specific married last name combination and find out that you missed your chance in your state by a few weeks.

Travel – Thinking about booking a trip for Spring Break or over the summer? Now is the time to apply for a new passport in your married name. The State Department is taking ~5 weeks to issue new passports, and you’ll need your new passport number before you book your flights somewhere warm! The other reason to get a new passport now? You’ll get to keep track of all of your trips as a Mrs. instead of having them split between two books.

Taxes – No one wants to think about taxes, but changing your name in the beginning of the year will make filing taxes under your new name much simpler next year. After working a full year as a Mrs, your accountant will thank you and you won’t have to stress about which amounts were made under which name.

Employment Ease – Employers need to be notified of married name changes and if that notification comes in the new year, odds are in your favor that you’ll get prompt attention from HR, new business cards, email etc before everyone is bogged down with projects. Another pro: you’ll receive credit in your new name. As someone who received a president’s club trophy and trip in a hyphenated name (as HR guessed)…I really wish I had notified them of my new non-hyphenated last name in the New Year!

Now or Never – Name change is one of those life changes that fall into the now or never category. The sooner you start the married name change process the sooner it will be finished and you’ll be an official Mrs. The longer you wait, the more your maiden name gets attached to important things like leases, mortgages, degrees, etc. and the harder it becomes to make the switch to a new last name.

If your New Year’s resolution was to change your name, hopefully these five benefits give you the boost you need to start the process. MissNowMrs is an easy online name change service that will streamline the paperwork and pain from 13 hours into 30 minutes for $29.95. How’s that for a great deal and a way to ensure you check that particular resolution off your list?!