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!

A MissNowMrs Proposal Story!

Are you ready for a MissNowMrs proposal story? Everyone loves a creative proposal story….it warms your heart and makes you remember how special love is. Now if that proposal story involves your business, that makes it even more special! We have a great proposal story to share with you that involves a MissNowMrs name change gift card and the adorable couple in the photo!

So we were writing out MissNowMrs gift card messages earlier this week and I saw one that said “I would like you to be Mrs. Smith*. Love, Grant.” This first thought that sprang into my mind was “Is this a proposal?!”. So, we emailed Grant and he did indeed mail one of our gift cards to his girlfriend asking her to become his wife.

Can you imagine her curiosity as she found the blue swirly envelope we mail our cards in along with a stack of her regular mail, bills and catalogs? I wish there was a hidden camera to record her reaction as she read Grant’s proposal and our gift card fell into her lap!

Kudos to Grant for such a sweet and creative way to ask the woman he loves to become his wife! We love when fiances send gift cards to their significant others to save them time and hassle on their transition from Miss to Mrs., but this is by far our favorite gift card gifting to date.

Do you know anyone that gave their fiance one of our cards? We’d love to hear and share the story with our readers. We’d also love to hear about your own proposal stories.

*Name has been changed to protect the couples’ privacy

Your Holiday, My Holiday, Our Holiday?

Your holiday, my holiday, our holiday? These are questions all newlyweds face. Passover and Easter are right around the corner. Do you know what your holiday plans are? Hopefully the answer is “yes”. As a newlywed couple it’s really important to discuss the holiday, who you’ll see and what the expectations of each family are. Communication and prior planning are the best ways to avoid disappointing both families and your spouse. Below are a few of the most common holiday scenarios and some suggestions to make them successful!

In-Law Holiday

Are you spending quality time with your in-laws this weekend? There are a few things you can do to make the holiday go smoothly. First, get the scoop from your spouse. What does his family typically do (it helps to know if you’re expected to play flag football or croquette) and pack accordingly. Also, email or call his mom to ask if you can bring something. If she says no, be sure to bring a hostess gift of flowers or chocolates! You can also score family bonus points by bringing something for your new nieces and nephews.

The Holidays with Your Family

Preparing to spend time with your folks? Talk to your spouse about what your family traditions are and ask what his favorite part of the holidays are. You can ask your parents to add a favorite dish or activity to make him feel included.

Holidays at Both Family’s Houses

If you live close to both sets of your parents and they can be flexible on meal times, this may be the best way to begin your holidays together. Brunch with your family and dinner with his gives you the best of both worlds and satisfies both families, but be aware that you may be setting the expectation that you’ll do double holidays for eternity!

Combined Family Holiday at Your House

Hosting a holiday as newlyweds is a great way for your families to get to know each other post-wedding. Just be sure to talk to both sides and make sure that they’re okay with spending time as a group. The first celebration will be the biggest adjustment for all of you (especially if you are a mixed religion couple), but if you can incorporate traditions from both sides and let both moms bring something for the meal you’re on the road to a successful event. Don’t forget to add a tradition or dish that is totally yours!

Just the Two of You

Too far away to spend Passover or Easter with your families? Consider the weekend as a great way to spend time together as a couple and create a memorable holiday and possibly some traditions. You could go out for a meal or make your own elaborate feast. Making Easter baskets for each other can also be fun!

Party of 2 + Friends

Spending the holidays away from family and know a few other people who are too? Host a holiday brunch and have each guest bring a component. You’ll all bond over a meal and not feel like you missed out on the holiday hubbub that families share. Feel free to be creative when planning your holiday event, I often host an Easterita (pastel colored margaritas) party in the evening for friends and neighbors to unwind after time spent with their families!

However you spend the coming weekend, be grateful that you have a loving spouse to share the holidays with. We’d love to hear your plans in a comment!

Newlyweds & Shower Gift Givers Get Your GROUPON: $15 for MNM Gift Cards

Listen up newlyweds and brides-to-be…Groupon has a 1/2 off deal for the MissNowMrs name change service and/or gift cards for all of your engaged friends! For a limited time you and your friends can save 50% off our online name-change service for brides! Who wouldn’t spend $15 to save 13 hours of standing in long office lines as they transition to a Mrs.?

For the sale price of $15, MissNowMrs.com will help you auto-complete & file your Social Security, U.S. Passport, IRS 8822, USPS, state driver’s license, vehicle title & registration, and voter registration forms! We’ll also help you notify of all of your banks, credit cards, insurances, mortgages, medical providers, investment companies and professional license boards of your new married name. Our instructions will give you the inside scoop on the order you need to file your forms in, how to file by mail and any items you need to file each form successfully (you’d be surprised at what some offices need to see).

Yet another perk of our service: access to our name-change experts. They will help you understand your state’s name-change laws, assist you with complicated questions and generally make your entire name change a million times easier than trying to sort through an enormous stack of government forms on your own!

So what are you waiting for? Take advantage of this amazing sale and save money, time & stress on your name change! We can’t wait to help you go from Miss to Mrs.! Already a Mrs., but have a few friends who are getting married in 2012? Use this sale to stock up on gift cards at half price! They make the ultimate shower gift, as they’re unique and very useful for any brides to be.

Unplug to Reconnect!

It’s time to unplug to reconnect. Now that you’re settling into the newlywed life, do you ever feel like you don’t have time to talk or connect with your spouse the way you did before you said “I do”? Balancing jobs, a new marriage, family obligations and all the other joys of life can make for a grueling schedule.

My suggestion to you? Take an evening or weekend and unplug so you can reconnect. Turn off your phones & computers and sign off of all your online vices (from Facebook to shopping). Having uninterrupted time together is precious.

So you’re unplugged and staring at each other…now what? Take a walk through your neighborhood or a park and hold hands. You can talk, or not. Just being together is a good thing! Do activities that you love to do, but never have time for. Restaurant hop and have an appetizer at a few places, discover a museum or get a couples massage.

Another option is to tackle a project that has been on your joint to-do list forever. Need to paint the kitchen? Go pick out paint colors and roll up your sleeves. Completing a task together is rewarding and has been shown to strengthen relationship bonds.

As your unplugged time draws to a close, talk about what you liked about uninterrupted time together. Did you both de-stress? Learn something you didn’t know about your spouse? Have mind-blowing sex? You may realize that the time you spent together makes it easier for you to handle your spouse’s or your own work travel. Whatever the positive outcomes were, make plans to unplug on a regular basis!

What do you do to unplug with your spouse? Have you seen it benefit you relationship and marriage? We’d love to hear about it in a comment!

Newlywed Interest in Pinterest

Explaining the newlywed interest in Pinterest. We have to admit, we’re a bit obsessed with Pinterest. Not sure what it is? It’s a virtual pin board that lets you collect ideas/images/recipes/you name it! What does that have to do with nearlywed and newlywed life? Um…everything!

This is the perfect way to plan your dream home (room by room). Pin color palettes, furniture, plants, and artwork that would make your perfect place. When you click on the picture you pinned you’re taken to the site it came from, so you can purchase the items as you need them.

No more searching in vain for the perfect pillows you saw online, somewhere. Pinterest is also a great way to plan a shower and allow input from your friends. You can allow other people to add pins to your projects if you’re looking for help. You can find inspiration boards for healthy eating or any type of exercise.
Here are a few of our boards to give you ideas for your own!
Married Name Change

Are you using Pinterest to make your newlywed life more fun and more organized? We’d love to heat about your boards….so leave a comment!