Before honeymoon, change of names on passport

ourbigday  I filled in a passport form for someone else recently - I am fairly sure they had to provide certified proof that they would be getting married e.g. a letter from the presiding vicar. However you normally have to pay the vicar for that and the £79 for a new passport too. As all our money went on our wedding I have not changed mine yet and do not intend to do so anytime soon, so will go on holiday with my maiden name instead until it runs out!

ruthlydia  @loz2879 I was told by the registrar that it is better to not bother changing it until afterwards, can't remember what her reasons were but it saves having an extra job to do before the wedding so i'm not going to change mine.

angelil  I've also only started on all my name change stuff after my wedding. Passport will actually be the last one I do I think as it still has five years left to run and I'm a bit of a tightwad :p

hayleycooper1985  I would like to too but didnt think it was possible... if you work it out please let me know! but dont forget youll need to change name on booking xx

tassarella  @loz2879 and @hayleycooper1985 you can change your name for your passport up to three months before the date you get married which will not be valid until the date you are married. You need to get the relevant forms (which I think are available from the directgov website) and fill these out, get a new passport photo, pay the £79 and get the person presiding over your ceremony to fill in a form also available on the directgov website stating that they are performing the service and the date you are marrying. You will need to send your old passport in along with the relevant forms. Your new passport may have an additional 9 months to run on it on top of the usual 10 years depending how long you had left on your previous passport.

hayleycooper1985  @tassarella thank you do you know how long it takes? my hen nightg is abroad and i get back about 5 weeks before honeymoon? x

tassarella  @hayleycooper1985 I think its usually around 2 weeks but you can pay extra for an express service so that it gets done quicker. All the information is available on here http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Passports/Applyingforyourfirst... hope it helps x

emma23  the woman in the post office told me that if you pay for the check and send they are coming back in a week xx

loz2879  @ourbigday @ruthlydia @angelil @hayleycooper1985 @tassarella @emma23
Hi girls, thanks for your comments and help!
I have decided to change name on passport after the wedding and honeymoon as my travel agents have said just to take wedding certificate with us (as hotel want confirmation of wedding for room upgrade and free candle lit meal on beach ) also £79 for a new passport seems silly when i have 4 years on current passport and It would also mean id have to change banking details etc before i went else i wouldnt have full id etc. ill stick to maiden name on passport etc till i can change it all properly after the honeymoon!
thanks again for our help!! and hope your all ok! x

jezibella83  @loz2879 I work at Gatwick Airport as check-in supervisor and just wanted to let you know that once you're married if you book a holiday in your married name but your passport is in your maiden name you can travel as long as you have the original marriage certificate with you. I'm getting married in 2013 but my passport doesn't expire until 2020 (I only renewed it last year). I'm going to keep my passport in my maiden name but carry my marriage certificate with my passport.

loz2879  @jezibella83 thanks for that tip!! i may do that then till my passport expires!! saves wasting money! thanks

jen150912  @loz2879 my passport expires in about 9mths or so, so I'll be renewing mine before the wedding - wasn't sure how to go about it, but now I do thanks to the Direct.gov link above! Means I can go on honeymoon as Mrs Grassie woo!! x

clareandjason2012  ill be changing my passport to my married name after the wedding, it runs out feb 2013 so will have just enough left on it to go on honeymoon then renew it when i get back in my married name xx

laurasday  @loz2879 I have my passport in my new name it came on sat, cant be used untill my wedding day tho, you can apply for a date activated passport 3 months b4 your wedding you just have to get a form signed by the priest or whoever is marrying you x

raewright  @clareandjason2012 Just be careful with yours, I'm changing my passport before we marry, but I got told before I'd decided that I would need at least 6 full months left on my passport from the return date of the honeymoon. I don't know where you're flying, or if that's only select countries but if you haven't already I would definitely look into it.

kelz15912  My passport runs out in july and i am defo not going to get one done to only change it a year later, did see something about extended passport, but stupid computer at work have blocked it.

smudged  one tip i can offer is that my passport had run out in december 2010 and i know i wasn`t taking any other trips abroad till our honeymoon in june. so 3 months before the wedding i changed my name and renewed the passport all for the same cost! saved £74.

laraandsteve  I've just booked my honeymoon in our maiden name. We don't go on honeymoon until the Wednesday (get married the Saturday) so worse case scenario, will drive to the passport office on the Monday! I knew I'd seen another thread on here about changing it 3 months before so thanks for reassuring me! x x
@jezibella83 great news about the certificate at the airport
@tassarella will look at the site now :

clareandjason2012  @raewight thanks didnt think of that, planning on going to rome so i will definately check xx

emma82517  I got my passport yesterday, go to your post office and get the form and tell them your getting married and want to change your name as you have a second form that both you and the person marrying have to fill in. You fill it in with your new married surname and signature.
When you book your honeymoon though make sure that the name you book it in is the same as on your passport as some countries are really strict on that xxx

jezibella83  @clareandjason2012 If you're travelling to Rome on a British passport it only needs to be valid on arrival into Italy as it's within Europe, it's the same with all European countries. The 6 month validity rule only applies to a selection of countries outside of the E.U. For example Dubai require 3 months validity on arrival but Mauritius require 6 months validity after your period of intended stay. Anywhere within Europe on a British passport you're fine. Like @emma82517 says it is better to book your holiday in name on your passport but if you forget and book in the wrong name (as many people do, trust me) then take your marriage certificate as that is an official document to prove that you have been known by both names and you will be fine. I've worked at check-in for 10 years on several airlines - Easyjet, Thomas Cook & currently Emirates.

clareandjason2012  @jezzabella83 thanks hun ill travel under my maiden name on honeymoon, but marriage certificate will be going with us as well just incase xxx

essex_bride  We booked out familymoon for August 6weeks ago and we booked my ticket under my maiden name, firstly as I still have several years on my passport but also I didnt want the hassle of having to fill in forms, sending it off to get it changed, especially when I can still travel under my maiden name. We will then take marriage certificate with us to that we have proof of my new name in case it is needed whilst we are away xx

irisht  My passport is out of date March 2013 and we get married May 2013, will be heading on honeymoon a few days after wedding so not sure if I renew it in March with my maiden name if I can get it changed when I get married, don't want to be out the price of 2 passports.

jen150912  @irisht you can renew it and have your name changed at the same time up to 3mths before the big day - the person carrying out your ceremony fills in part of the form for you and it is renewed in your married name. Just can't use it until the day after the wedding. That's what I'm doing xx

fnicholson  can na1 help me plz. My passport expired in feb this year. My other halfs parents have booked us our honeymoon in our married name do i have to get a complete new passport with photos etc and get my minister to sign the documents 3 months before our wedding?

boycee  @fnicholson based on what the others have said here, if your honeymoon is booked in your married name then your passport will need to match too.
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Passports/Howtochangethenameon...
Check this site out, it might help you with how to start the process, which can be done up to 3mths prior to the wedding. Hope this helps x

laurasday  @fnicholson I did this you need to fill in the normal passport forms and get pics in your maiden name, then download some forms from the direct gov site and get your minister to fill that in
its this 1 http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/@trav...

and this
http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/@trav...
x

pinkbatgirl  For info:
My new passport in my married name arrived today - only took 9 days from date of posting to it coming back through my door and I didn't pay for express check & send or anything, just posted it off special delivery