We love all things newlywed, name change, and love related, so we are incredibly excited to share our client Jacquie’s real name change story! Read on for the story of how a Sicilian Daddy’s girl pretended to like country music, met the man of her dreams, surprised herself with her name change decision, and what advice she has for fellow newlyweds.
Jacquie’s Love Story
Michael and I met as coworkers on a company trip to Yankee Stadium. I had just started with the company about a month prior and swore to myself I would never date a coworker. A few days after we went to the Yankee game he asked me to go to Bryant Park in NYC with him for a country music album release party. I pretended I was into country music and went along with it. Our conversation was so easy and even though we grew up in two different states (him in Connecticut and me in New Jersey), we had so much in common.
Fast forward two and a half years later. Michael and I were standing at the top of the Empire State Building when he popped the question! We wed exactly 4 years to the day of our first date. The weather was absolutely perfect for a lakeside wedding. 70 degrees and sunny on September 29. We had the time of our lives celebrating with family and friends. We had many requests to get married once a year just to celebrate all over again!
Jacquie’s Name Change Narrative
Michael and I are planners – we planned for our first home together, our wedding, our honeymoon in Australia and our future family. Discussing changing my name was no different. I’m the youngest of a 100% Sicilian family (certified Daddy’s little girl), so giving up my Italian last name was more of a struggle than I imagined it would be. My whole life I just thought a woman takes the man’s name and that’s that. But after 30 years of one name, I didn’t realize how much I would feel like I was giving up my identity.
Michael and I joked about him taking my last name but I knew that would never actually happen. As the wedding day closed in I started to think about it more and more. Then remembered one of my recently married clients raving about MissNowMrs. So, I looked into it. Everything seemed so simple. Just upload some information (not even your social security number if you don’t feel comfortable) and everything is laid out for you from there. Addresses where to mail documents, helpful tips and a friendly support team for when you lock yourself out of your account (guilty – oops!).
Once MissNowMrs helped me get the ball rolling everything got so much easier. The nerves went away. And, the thought of sharing a last name with Michael made me excited! We think about having kids one day soon and our family being united with one name.
Jacquie’s Newlywed Advice
The best advice I could give other newlyweds is to sign up for MissNowMrs immediately after your big day. Procrastinating the process only makes the name change harder if you had nerves like I did. And by the way, those nerves are completely normal! The more and more brides/newlyweds I spoke to, the more it validated how normal of a feeling it was. I have a lot of engaged friends and MissNowMrs is the most practical advice I can recommend to them. Along with “On your wedding day, always remember to smile. The camera is ALWAYS on you!”
Did you love Jacquie’s real name change story as much as we did? If you’re considering changing your name, don’t miss our 20 step name change checklist for newlyweds!
Gorgeous wedding photos by: The Studio Photographers