Your honeymoon passport and tickets: which name should you use?

Flying off on your honeymoon soon after the wedding, and changing your surname? If you'll travel on your existing passport, book your flights in the name shown in that passport. For a week, two weeks or even three away, it may be easier to use that document and arrange a replacement after you return. First, make sure it remains valid and acceptable after the name change and for your entire journey, including the return.

Want to travel under your new surname instead? Then you'll need the appropriate passport in time for departure, and your ticket must be booked in that name.

Check every letter on your ticket

Check your given name and surname against the passport you'll actually use before you pay, then check them again when your ticket arrives. You're still the same person after the wedding. The airline, however, needs your booking details and travel document to match.

Don't panic about missing accents. A name such as Renée may appear as RENEE in a flight booking. That is a normal way of recording the name, not a spelling mistake. Follow your airline's instructions for entering names.

Even a single genuine spelling mistake can result in being denied boarding. Don't count on fixing it at the airport: it may be too late to change the booking before departure. You could lose your flight and the money you paid for the ticket.

Already booked? Compare the reservation with the passport you'll take. If there's a mistake, or you're switching to a passport in another name, contact the airline or booking provider promptly. A correction may be possible, but it can take time or involve a fee.

Can you keep your current passport?

The rules after a marriage-related name change depend on the country that issued your passport. Some people can continue travelling on a valid passport in their previous name; others face different conditions. Check with your passport authority rather than relying only on the expiry date printed in the document.

Then check the requirements for your destination, any relevant countries where you change planes, and your return. Having at least six months' validity beyond your planned return is a useful planning buffer, not a worldwide legal minimum. Requirements differ: for example, Mauritius requires a passport valid beyond the intended stay.

If you need a new passport before departure

Find out from the authority that issues your passport when you can apply in your new name, what evidence of the marriage or name change you'll need, whether standard or urgent processing is available, what it costs, and when you can collect or receive the passport. Don't assume another country's express service or timetable applies to you.

Even an experienced organiser of weddings abroad discovered, just days before flying to Mauritius, that his own passport had expired. He used express processing to replace it. There was a certain irony in being caught out by the very checks he knew so well.

What if you get married during the holiday?

If you're getting married while you're away, you may be able to fly home on the same passport and in the same name as on your outward journey, provided that document remains valid and acceptable throughout your route. You needn't change the flight booking halfway through the trip solely because the ceremony has taken place.

Before you leave, check what paperwork you'll need from the wedding to update your passport afterwards. And if your hotel reservation includes a honeymoon benefit, ask what proof of marriage it requires and whether a translation is needed.

Passport first, ticket second

Choose the passport you can actually travel with, then book in the name it carries. If your existing document will do, leave the replacement until you get home — one less thing to sort out before the wedding.

Passport and airline rules can change. Check the current requirements for your own passport and full itinerary before booking.