Almost a week ago, I walked down the aisle, said I do, and became Mrs. Malmberg. Little did I know, that was the easy part on changing my name. Now comes trying to get all the paperwork to recognize me as Mrs. Malmberg, instead of Miss Long.

So, if you even find yourself in this situation, here is a little advice from someone going through the process. And for your sake, I hope you aren't changing states while you are trying to change your last name. I am, and it makes everything so much harder.

First off, you will need your marriage license. That is the one item that has your new name. Then, first stop is the Social Security office. They require your marriage license and some identification. You can find all the forms online.

Now comes the DMV. Yikes is all I have to say about that one. Make sure you read all the hours and have plenty of time to deal with getting a new license. In my case, I have to get new registration, inspection and a new license. That will have to wait until after our honeymoon to Orlando. The mean policeman and staff said they couldn't help me any sooner.

The rest of the name changes should be easier, such as bank accounts, work and benefit records, creditors, landlord, insurance, doctors, dentists, utilities, passport office, post office, voter registration and alumni association. A few in the list may happen at once, but it never hurts to double check.

In general, you have about 30 days to get your name all changed over. That is a good thing. Married couples should get the chance to relax a little before they have to deal with so much paperwork.

And lastly, don't forget Facebook. It was, in all honestly, the easiest change. :) So now, instead of following Brenna Long on brennamedia, you can look forward to reading from Brenna Malmberg. (The bm initials for brennamedia work better now.)