As you can tell from reading my blog, I have a ton of questions!  So I sent some questions over to Fox World Travel and they were MORE than helpful!

So now that I have my honeymoon booked with Fox World Travel, I realized I better start thinking about my passport!

I had a few questions about passports, so I emailed Michele, my travel agent. She was so helpful! I sent her some questions and here are her responses:

Q:           Do I have to update my current passport with my new married name before going on my honeymoon?

A:            It depends. You can’t update your passport until you are actually married and have proof of a name change (i.e. marriage certificate). So, you can choose to get a new passport if you have time between your wedding and honeymoon (processing times vary depending on the time of the year: http://www.travel.state.gov/passport/processing/processing_1740.html).

Usually, we advise brides NOT to change their passport before their honeymoon (if they are traveling relatively close to their wedding. When we book international honeymoons for couples who are leaving soon after their wedding, we typically make the bride’s reservation in her maiden name. That way, the bride does not need to update her passport until after the honeymoon.

More information on passport name changes can be found here: http://www.travel.state.gov/passport/correcting/ChangeName/ChangeName_851.html

Q:           What do I do if I lose my passport right before traveling?!? (Which I recently did J….but found it three weeks later.)

A:            If you would have been unable to find your passport prior to departure, you would have to follow these steps to get a passport in a hurry: http://www.travel.state.gov/passport/hurry/hurry_831.html

Your most efficient and fastest way to get a passport under emergency situations is to appear in person at the passport office in Chicago.  Best Advice – DON’T LOSE YOUR PASSPORT! J 

Q:           What do I do if I lose my passport while traveling?

A:            Before traveling, we recommend that you make two copies of the front page of your passport.  Leave one copy with somebody at home (preferably somebody who you can easily reach by telephone) and carry one copy separately from the rest of your travel documents.  If your passport is lost or stolen while traveling, you would go to the closest US Embassy or US Consulate.  If you can provide a copy of the passport, the process to obtain a passport is much faster. 

Fox World Travel also provided me with this additional information:

If you are changing the name on a passport due to a marriage and the passport is less than 1 year old, there is no charge.  However, if your passport is older than that, you have to renew the passport (current fee $110). Many women travel under their maiden names until their current passports expire (and I wouldn’t call them cheap…..just smart).  There is no reason that you can’t do this as long as the documents (i.e. airline tickets, electronic documents, etc.) are booked under the name on the passport that you will be using for the travel. And good news - this is not illegal. In other words, you can keep your current passport (which is under your maiden name) until it expires (as long as you always book international travel under your maiden name). But when the passport expires, you must renew it under your legal name (i.e. the name on your driver’s license).

That really helped clear up some of my questions and concerns. This is another reason why I’m so glad that I’m working with a travel agent, rather than trying to book this on my own.