I get it – getting married can be pretty overwhelming when it comes to what you need to be thinking about. There’s a few pointers below on things you need to know about pre-wedding, and things you might want to think about post-ceremony when it comes to changing your name (if that’s your thing – it’s not everyone’s).
Pre-Ceremony
Before you get married, you’ll need to complete a Notice of Intended Marriage (NOIM). Unless there’s a geographical challenge I usually complete this with my couples (meaning I can witness it too and you don’t need to worry about that bit). This needs to be done at least one month before you and your lover want to get married (but no more than 18 months before), and you’ll also need to have the following when you’re completing the NOIM:
- Passport (expired is OK); OR
- Birth certificate AND driver’s licence.
You may also need to provide if applicable:
- Evidence of change of name if this differs to your birth certificate; and/or
- Evidence of death, divorce or nullity of a previous marriage.
Post-Ceremony
You might be wanting to change your name after your ceremony – there are some links below that you might find helpful during this process. It might seem like there’s a bit to do but trust me it’s completely achievable!
The very first thing you need to do is to apply for your marriage certificate (my Full Whammy package looks after this bit for you and it will magically just arrive in the mail one day via registered mail) – for my Queensland couples you can apply for one here.
Once you’ve got your marriage certificate you can take it with you to change your name at places like your banking institution or the department of transport (don’t forget – they might want to take a new photo of you for this and I don’t recommend doing this immediately after returning from a European holiday in a bid to stay awake all day…).
Some places may need a JP signed copy of your marriage certificate if they are not sighting your certificate in person – it might be a good idea to get a few copies of your certificate certified at the same time in case you need to post this off.
Name change checklist:
- Passport (click here)
- Bank/s
- ATO
- Health insurance
- Medicare
- Driver’s licence
- Your employer
- Frequent Flyer programs
- Utilities
- Property title deeds
- Real estate agent
- Vehicle registration
- Insurances (car, pet, building, home and contents)
- Animal microchipping
- Electoral enrollment
- Superannuation
- Animal registration/s
- Subscriptions and your in-store details for customer loyalties
- Your will