Playing the name game’s so expensive (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Playing the name game’s so expensive

4:27pm Monday 8th February 2010

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MAKING the decision to change your name when you get married is one thing.

But actually doing it? That’s another thing entirely.

Three-and-a-half months since the wedding, and I reckon it’s about time I officially became a Taylor.

It’s taken this long to get round to it simply because I’ve only just got over the demob happy feeling of getting my evenings back and not having to spend them making table plans, thinking about flowers, and balancing budgets.

But when you’ve got the wedding album and video back, sent all your thank you cards, and finally filed away all the odd bits of paper, samples and cards that have been cluttering the dining room table for the past year, there’s only one thing for it.

The boring admin starts and you have to start writing to everyone from the bank to the people who provide your Boots Advantage Card to tell them you’ve changed your name.

It’s easier said than done, though.

When you first decide to abandon the name that has served you for your whole life up until now to take the name of your loved-one, it feels romantic and exciting.

But when it comes to actually doing it, all glamour and romance is abandoned. It’s just downright annoying.

I did all the easy day-to-day name changes straight away; set up a new email address, told work, changed it on Facebook.

But the big ones – the banks, passport, driving licence – just seem a bit of a hassle.

For instance, did you know you have to send your one and only original copy of your marriage certificate off to the DVLA and Passport Service?

You can choose to send it recorded delivery, but they’ll simply shove this precious piece of paper in an envelope and send it back through the normal post.

And did you know that you have to pay £77.50 for a new passport even though you’ve still got eight years left on your current one? What a cheek!

But it’s got to be done.

I don’t want changing my name to turn into another one of those “things I’ll get round to” like buying a new carpet for our landing.

Incidentally, three years on and we’ve still got the same tatty old stained carpet left by the previous owners.

The problem with all the admin that you have to deal with after a wedding is that there’s no motivation to do it — all the exciting stuff has already happened.

I suspect it’s a lot easier to find the energy to change your name if you have an embarrassing maiden name you can’t wait to be rid of.

So all those Miss Shufflebottoms, Miss Onions, Miss Willys, Miss Morons, Miss Sneezums and Miss Piggs out there (all real names!) would probably be more than happy to switch places with me right now – and face all the hassle.

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