You know what was really "in" when our parents' generation got married? Brown velvet tuxedos, bridemaids dresses that doubled as living room drapes, and saying 'I do' approximately four minutes after graduating from college. Clearly things have changed. Grooms no longer look like extras from the set of Saturday Night Fever, friends don't let friends wear polyester, and people settle down with the "one" a bit later in life (after we've had ample time to weed out all the wrong "ones").
This makes that whole name-change thing a lot harder than it was for our moms. While it was practically unheard of not to take their husband's name back in the day ... now, more and more women I know (including myself - I've been married a year and a half) just haven't gotten around to it ... or don't want to. We've had a longer time to define who we are as adults, with our last names there every step of the way. Just like so many other things you let go of when you grow up, the name you had your whole life, is just plain hard say goodbye to.
When I do eventually change my name, it probably won't be as big a deal as I'm envisioning. But as a gal who has never been good with change (Umm, yes, I was that girl who would have gladly gone home with my parents the day they dropped me off at college), I know it will be sort of bittersweet.
Did you take the plunge and change your name right after you got hitched? Too lazy to go through the motions? Still debating a switch? Or is a name-change an absolute no-no? Share your thoughts and leave a comment below!
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
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I didn't change and not planning on it. When people (mostly older relatives) call me Mrs. S, it doesn't offend me, I think it is cute. But I got married over 30, my name is my name, I have professional credits and other google-able things in my name and I see no reason to change it. I have a friend who did the hyphen, and I might have considered that if my husband or I had a short name... but we've got a whole lot of syllables between us so it isn't an option. The only reason to change that I understand is if you don't like your current name and want an excuse to change it. :)
ReplyDeleteso true! especially when you have professional things under a name, it can be a lot harder.
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