Better half, little Mrs., ball and chain, old lady. Call me what you want, I’m married, hitched, the knot is tied and I took the plunge.
Right about now you are probably looking at my byline thinking, “If she is married, why is her name the same?”
Choosing to change your name is not an easy decision. I have been Stacie Snow for 27 years of my life and trading in my alliteration-littered moniker for Gaetz was like saying goodbye to an old friend. Although, it is pretty cool that my new name has a Z in it and it will be nice to avoid all the ridicule that comes with having a name that sounds like a weather girl or exotic dancer.
The other option was to hyphenate. There are many problems with this. No disrespect to anyone with a hyphenated name but when a kids’ name is so long they can’t spell it until they are 15 years old, it’s a bit ridiculous. Not to mention Snow-Gaetz invites more ridicule because it sounds like one of those orange snow fences you see on the side of the highway in the winter. And Gaetz-Snow is just plain hard to say.
So, out of respect for my husband’s family, the desire to show my complete dedication to my relationship and a chance to switch things up a bit, I took Matt’s name. But after that seemingly giant decision, things only got more complicated.
In fact, the legal process of changing my name has proven much more difficult than my monumental decision to do so. I’m still not sure if I will get my passport in time for our honeymoon to Greece in September.
This leads me to the question: Why is the process of changing your name so complicated? Don’t people get married every day?
After getting back from our short getaway to Banff right after our wedding, I looked up the process of changing your name on your passport. I found out that you first needed your driver’s licence to be changed – which takes between seven and 14 days depending on if you talk to the girl behind the counter or the guy on the phone.
In order to get your licence changed you also need to get your marriage certificate mailed to you, a process also started at the registry. This could take any amount of time depending on how long it takes for your officiant or priest to send in the required information and again whether you talk to someone in person or on the phone.
Then, for your passport, you need to fill out an eight-page application, get an acceptable photo (not an easy task according to all the requirements), have the application and photo signed by a guarantor, show your birth certificate and pay the fee.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a writer so I have no problem with a little bit of paperwork but this seems a little ridiculous just to get on a plane. I also understand that fraud is a serious problem and international travel needs to be regulated, but again, I’m not trying to take over the world, just my husband’s last name.
Why didn’t I just leave my passport in my maiden name you ask? Because I was a little eager when booking the trip and wanted to use my new name for the plane tickets so I had a chance to practice my new signature – big mistake. So now, I am not-so-patiently waiting for my marriage certificate to come in so I can get my licence, so I can get my passport, so I can go to Greece.
Needless to say, my name will be staying Stacie Snow for the purposes of this newspaper, not only because changing my name has been a hassle, but because it has a nice ring to it.
