One groom’s perspective on taking his wife’s last name
So far the name change hasn’t cost me more than a few hours of paperwork, some explanations to public officials and a few strained conversations with brittle relatives who think I’ve joined a matrilineal cult. I still feel like myself. My identity remains intact. Marriage will demand larger sacrifices than this, I expect.
You might be an Offbeat Bride if…
…you ask a bride-to-be what color her dress is and she says, “Like, do you mean ivory vs. white?” and you remember not everyone considers red/purple/rainbow/polka-dotted dresses for their wedding day.
Claire & Bobby’s puppet wedding
Our wedding was subversively quirky. We both went back and forth about certain traditions and our families had some say in that. I was in a big pouffy white dress with a veil for the ceremony and the boys were in tuxes. But there were puppets. Lots of them.
Advice for dudes changing their last names
I know a couple men who’ve taken their wives’ last names in two different ways (one got rid of his last name, the other hyphenated), so I pestered them for some name-changing advice.