Newlywed

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!

3 Ways to Know You Chose the Right Married Name

Changing your name after marriage is a very personal choice. You have to consider your heritage, career, and how you feel deep inside about changing your name. While 88% of U.S. brides opt to change their names, not all of them explore their options before making the switch. It’s important to use our 3 ways to know you chose the right married name.

Game Show Winner

You know the person the camera always pans to when a winner is announced during a game show? The crazy person jumping up and down and screaming. You can feel confident in your name change choice if you feel that same way whenever someone says your new name. Feeling that I-can’t-believe-how-lucky-I-am-right-now joy is a dead giveaway that you made a great choice.

Married Name Monogram Happy

Another indicator that you’ve chosen the perfect married name is your feeling toward monogramed or personalized items. Newlyweds who can’t help loading up on items like pillows, wine glasses, & ring dishes are typically happy with their new names. Think about it. If you’re purchasing items showcasing your new married name, you’re proud and excited about that decision and change!

Diner Delight

If you can contain your smiles as you make dinner reservations for Mr. and Mrs. Smith… guess what? You love your new married name! It is completely okay to revel in the newness of your marriage and name. Enjoy it! Hopefully as you are led to your 50th wedding anniversary dinner you will still smile as you hear your married name.

Now you know the 3 Ways to Know You Chose the Right Married Name. If you still haven’t changed your name, we can help! Use the MissNowMrs name change app or online service to streamline the process from 13 hours to 13 minutes.

2 Ways to File For Your Married Name on Your Social Security Card

Ready for a New Name? Order Now!

When you decide to change your name after marriage, the first thing you typically thinks of is your Social Security Card. And, you’re right! Filing to updated to your married name with the Social Security Administration is at the top of the name-change list. There are 2 Ways to File For Your Married Name on your Social Security Card. Read on to find out what they are!

I vividly remember standing in the endless line at the Social Security office when I got married. There was an armed guard at the entrance. And, no one was allowed to use their phones. That experience definitely took some of the wind out of my newlywed sails.

Guess what? That doesn’t have to happen to you. You have options when filing for your married name with the Social Security Administration. There are two ways to file for your new Social Security Card.

Too busy to take time off of work to file for your new Social Security Card? Elect to file by mail! Simply complete the SS-5 form, include a certified marriage certificate, and your driver’s license or U.S. Passport (photocopies are not accepted.) Mail them to the Social Security Administration Office within your city. Two important things: If you do not have a passport to file with your form, do not mail in your driver’s license. This leaves you driving without proper ID for a minimum of 2 weeks. Also, as you are mailing important documents, we highly recommend using certified mail.

Method 2: File the SS-5 In Person

If you do not have a U.S. Passport to use as your identification document, or if you’re paranoid that your form and passport might get lost, filing in person is the option for you. When you file for your new Social Security card at the office, the clerk will take your form, make copies of your license or passport and marriage certificate and then give them right back to you. Your new Social Security card with your new name will be mailed to you within 10-14 business days. To minimize your wait time, we advise filing mid-week around 2:00pm.

Still feeling a little overwhelmed after learning the 2 Ways to File For Your Married Name on Your Social Security Card? The MissNowMrs name change app and service were designed to streamline your form completion and filing process. When you use our service you have access to name-change experts who are happy to answer your questions. And, give you the support you need to make your name change a breeze!

Ready for a New Name? Order Now!

Wedding Pro Wednesday: Laura C. Cannon

Today I am excited to introduce you to Laura C. Cannon. She is the founder of Ceremony Officiants™ is ranked the #1 wedding officiant company in the United States with more than a decade of experience creating beautiful, personalized ceremonies for couples of all backgrounds. Her diverse and friendly team of experienced professional officiants has performed over 3,000 weddings and maintains a perfect 5.0 average for reviews on WeddingWire and the Knot. In 2013 Laura launched a sister company, DC Elopements, which specializes in stress-free, simple elopements and mini-weddings in the Washington, D.C. area.

So, if you’re trying to decide on a wedding officiant or are curious what a career in “marriage” might be like… don’t miss Laura’s answers below!

Have you always been a wedding professional? If not, what was your previous career?
I was not always a wedding professional, but almost! The first company I started while still in college was an event planning company and weddings were certainly part of the mix. I sold that business and went on a spiritual journey that lead me to becoming ordained as a non-denominational minister. I always had the heart of an entrepreneur and was fortunate to grow up with two entrepreneurial parents. But having gone to college with the thought of having a typical 9-5 career, I decided that I had to travel down that path to have that experience. I worked in higher education in a salaried position and stayed there while I continued to officiate weddings and preside over funerals on the side. Eventually I decided to make the leap into working full-time in the wedding industry. I grew from solo-preneur to a team of wedding officiants that now covers several states, has spawned several other companies, including the formation of the International Association of Professional Wedding Officiants.

What inspired you to create your company?
I was inspired to create my company when a student of mine who knew I was ordained asked if I would perform her wedding ceremony. While doing her wedding I had what Oprah calls an “Aha” moment where everything became clear. I knew I was meant to do another wedding and that it was the perfect use of a variety of skills I had been honing for years. That first year I did a handful of weddings just from referrals. The business continued to grow and then I decided to bring on my first associate officiant. It’s now been almost 15 years and we’ve performed thousands of weddings!

What was your biggest obstacle and failure in going from idea to business?
While I am thankful for the fact that I did not experience and “failures” in my business, there were certainly challenges. I think as an entrepreneur starting out in a new industry the biggest hurdle to cross is dealing with the fact that you don’t know what you don’t know. Everything is new. I had the challenges of learning a business and the industry it was inextricably a part of all at the same time.

What do you love most about your job?
I LOVE LOVE. Seriously. Having the opportunity to bear witness to two people in love make a sacred commitment to each other is the greatest joy of my life. People ask me all the time, “Now that you are an author and a speaker and run all these businesses are you going to stop officiating weddings?” No way! There is a Sanskrit word, mudita, which means the joy derived from the joy of others. It is my favorite kind of joy and I get to experience mudita every time I officiate. It doesn’t get better than that.

What is your best advice for brides related to your area of expertise?
My #1 piece of advice for brides is to plan for your married life, not just a wedding. The wedding is one day. Yes, it is an amazing extra-special day, but ultimately it is really just the first day of your married life. We spend so much time planning for this event and we forget to put just as much emphasis on planning for a great partnership with our spouse. Spend some of your time considering what your married life will be like: What do you each need to do to contribute meaningfully to your relationship? How will you best support each other as life inevitably changes?

Laura C. Cannon’s best advice for newlyweds

COMMUNICATE. We often have different styles of communication and the way one person expresses love may not be the way the other person receives love. We have to learn how to explicitly communicate with our partner. Your partner is NOT a mind reader and yet sometimes when we are in relationship with someone for a long time we start to assume they should “just know” when something is wrong. No, they shouldn’t. It is up to each of you to be responsible for communicating your own desires and needs explicitly. Couples who communicate explicitly and frequently have deeper intimacy than those who don’t. And that deep intimacy with another human being is the true gift of marriage.

Photo Credits: Headshot – Denis Largeron, Wedding Couple Photo – Justine Ungaro

Did you love the story and advice of Laura C. Cannon? If so, don’t miss Valerie Hammer’s Wedding Pro Wednesday feature!

Wedding Pro Wednesday: Jon Mervis

It’s Wedding Pro Wednesday, and I couldn’t be happier to introduce you to Jonathan Mervis. Jon is an “artist of business growth” at Mervis Diamond Importers. And, one of the nicest DC entrepreneurs you will meet. Perhaps his “sparkling” personality runs in the family! With direct access to the world’s finest diamonds, Mervis offers an amazing array of magnificent diamonds. By importing directly, Mervis eliminates the middleman and provides unbeatable prices daily. Their guiding mission is very simple. Provide the finest quality diamonds at the lowest price to the most people. Their obsession with this is the driving force behind the company’s continued success. If you have inherited a family business, or are in the midst of wedding ring shopping, don’t miss Jon’s answers and advice below!

Have you always been a wedding professional? If not, what was your previous career?
Yes – my family has been in the diamond and jewelry business for over 80 years! My grandfather started our company in Johannesburg, South Africa and I’m the third generation. I joined the family business full time after graduating with my MBA in 2009.

As a kid before joining the family business, I had several small businesses and little ventures. Just after undergrad, I started a clothing line called Crooked Monkey. We made graphic t-shirts and sold to companies like Urban Outfitters and Nordstrom. In college, I didn’t want to get a boring summer job and so I started a company doing the only thing I was qualified to do at 19 years old: Take the SAT’s. So, I started an SAT tutoring company with some friends. And amazingly, we were able to really help local high schoolers improve their scores!

What inspired you to create your company?
I’m really grateful to work in a family business and continue the family tradition that my grandfather started. While the diamond ring is a timeless tradition – the world of today is so very different than it was for my grandfather and even father’s generation. What drives me is the challenge and joy to continually adapt and innovate. We need to continue to do what our clients appreciate while also finding new ways to appeal to tomorrow’s bride.

What was your biggest obstacle and failure in going from idea to business?
The biggest obstacle for any multi-generational business is often the balance between longstanding traditions that have proved successful versus new ways of doing business.

What do you love most about your job?
I love meeting couples that are just so happy together and excited to get married! DC is an exciting place, bringing together interesting people from all over the world for any variety of reasons. I love hearing our client’s stories, not just about how they met, but about their lives and what’s important to them.

What is your best advice for brides related to your area of expertise?
When you’re planning your wedding and budgeting costs, remember to consider the lifetime value of each part. You will keep your photos and wedding rings forever. You’ll wear your wedding rings every day and keep getting joy from them! On the other hand, many other parts of the wedding will be consumed within a few hours. You’ll want flowers to make the ceremony beautiful, but it’s helpful to remember that your flowers won’t last and budget accordingly.

What is your best of advice for newlyweds Jon Mervis?
My one piece of advice is to stay humble. Remember that neither one of you is 100% right at any point and the other 100% wrong. Look for the good in your partner and you’ll always find something to smile about!

We hope you loved all that Jon Mervis had to share. From his story, to his advice on jewelry and relationships. We can’t help you with diamonds. But, should you be ready to change your name, MissNowMrs can save you 13 hours of hassle!

Wedding Pro Wednesday: Kimberly Dean

Today I am excited to introduce you to Kimberly Dean, the founder of Kimberly Dean Photos and publisher of Valley Bride Wedding Guide. Her company specializes in understanding a client’s uniqueness so they can capture that essence in photos!

I met her at a sorority sister’s wedding and then noticed that my Facebook feed was continuously flooded with gorgeous images from her engagement, wedding, equestrian, and baby photo shoots. I am a photography snob, so if I like it, 99.9% of the population will as well! I also had the opportunity to experience Kimberly as a photographer at one of my best friend’s weddings. There were none of the fussy, stiff photo set-ups. Instead there were playful shots that showed the bride’s true colors and the entire feel of her big day.

If you are curious about professional photography for your wedding, or photography as a possible career, Kimberly’s story and advice are ideal for you. Read her candid answers to my questions below!

Have you always been a wedding professional? If not, what was your previous career?
No, I spend ten years working in online publishing for Agora Inc. as a marketing strategist, copywriter, and advertising buyer.

What inspired you to create your company?
As a wedding photographer, I meet so many couples who are very inspiring and hold such gorgeous weddings. My natural tendency to learn about people and my journalistic mindset sparked the idea to begin a wedding publication. I live in an area, just next to the Greenspring Valley, full of horse country and oodles of wedding venues. The North County, which touches the valley, also holds so many talented wedding professionals: from florists and caterers… to photographers and dress shops. Creating a geographically niche publication for the area just made sense. Start small, start local, and see where it leads.

What was your biggest obstacle and failure in going from idea to business?
Getting over my own self doubts and fear of failure were hands down the greatest obstacles. Once I began taking one step forward, however, the other steps luckily came easier and easier. Meeting some fellow publishers randomly at a coffee shop one day, who coincidentally were also starting a new home owner’s magazine in the same location, felt like a sign I was headed in the right direction. Having them to partner with for printing our magazines together also kept me on target with my deadlines. Sometimes you just meet the right people at the right time. This serendipitous chance meeting really helped me believe I was where I was supposed to be.

What do you love most about your job?
Both wedding photography and publishing entail telling stories. Whether it’s through photographic documentation or written words, storytelling and making memories are the common denominator for the two. I love the process of creating and sharing the final outcome. I’m also a hopeless romantic who loves details. I want to capture the emotion… the look… the vibe… the story. On the publishing side, interviewing and learning about the professionals behind all the wedding day magic also fascinates me because there’s so much talent there.

What is your best advice for brides related to your area of expertise?
I hope that brides and couples remember that although weddings do take so much time and money… that the ultimate goal is to enjoy the day you’ve been planning for. Remember what it’s all about. Remember why you fell in love, what the day represents, and don’t let any surprises or bloopers take away from that joy. Life is full of the unexpected, and weddings are no different. All the careful planning and meticulous detail in the world can’t prevent some kind of a hiccup on the day of a wedding. Laugh it off and consider it all part of the adventure. That’s really my best piece of advice. Laugh it off together.

What is your best advice for newlyweds?
I continue to keep in touch with couples post wedding who come back to me to photograph their first child’s portraits and family pictures, so I get to see how the marriage appears to be holding up. None of us can know for sure, but it seems to me that those who look the happiest have a true friendship. There’s an admiration there as well, and mutual respect, that maintains that friendship and helps bond them through life’s ups and downs. So, I suppose my best piece of advice is to make time to nurture the marriage and… stay friends.

Photo Credits: Kimberly Dean Photos (obviously)