about us
i'm a mrs. was created by best friends Claire Lamont and Jo-Anne Stayner as result of the quest for the perfect shower gift...and to stop the groaning from newly married friends that spent hours going through the name change process. finally a gift that is actually something a new bride-to-be can use...and more time to practice writing your new signature on every piece of paper you can get your hands on.
i'm a mrs. south africa launched in September 2009...and at the helm is Michelle Farren-Handford. she was introduced to i'm a mrs. when we launched in February and instantly knew that it would solve the frustrations of brides in south africa. since then she has pulled out all the stops to make changing your name a snap for brides in her local market.
thanks to all the amazing feedback from brides around the world, our global launch is well underway. south africa, the united kingdom and australia launched in 2009 and the united states made its debut in 2010. we're going to make it easy to change your name...no matter where in the world you are!
about i'm a mrs.
'i'm a mrs' is a privately owned company with operations in vancouver, south africa, australia, usa and the united kingdom. we're not just a website, we're a team devoted to making your name change easy. the process is easy and straightforward but don't be afraid to contact us by email or phone and ask any question. we're here for you.
we appreciate that when you've tied the knot and become someone's missus you want to move forward and get on with this exciting new chapter in your life. No one likes spending hours sourcing forms, addresses and instructions. you're proud of your new name and you want it on that gym card, on your subsciptions and store cards, as well as on all the official necessaries. we've done all the searching and sourcing for you, so all you have to do is click on the forms and letters you need and send them off.
congratulations, missus. now you can show off your new name to the world.
press
i'm a mrs in the associated press
Aug 17, 2010
Is Chelsea a keeper or a changer?
That's what researchers call the newly married once they figure out what to do — if anything — about their names. Now that the big Clinton-Mezvinsky wedding is a wrap and Rhinebeck, N.Y., is back to its idyllic self, the question remains what Chelsea's choice will be.
There are loads of options, from making up brand-new names and hybrids (Clevinsky) to hyphenations and add-ons like mom (Hillary Rodham Clinton). Research suggests more women than you might think — 77 to 95 per cent — legally change their names when they marry, including those who take the time to make a switch but incorporate their maiden names informally to preserve their identities on the job.
Jo-Anne Stayner, who provides name-change assistance at ImaMrs.com, said the decision today for many first-time brides is all about the value of a woman's digital footprint, along with her educational and professional oomph. We're not all Clintons, but we still care about the name game.
"With most women establishing a career before marriage (the average new bride is about 27 years old), it makes sense to want to protect the personal brand they have worked 14-hour days to create," Stayner said.
The question-and-answer site Ask.com fields more than a million queries every day on a variety of subjects. In the last 30 days, three of its top 25 questions covered marital alphabet soup.
— How long before a wedding do you start planning for a name change?
Once engaged, Ask's experts recommend. Legal steps must usually wait until after the ceremony because a marriage certificate is required as proof of a name change. Gathering forms and researching requirements can take time, so getting a prenuptial jump on the chore will help. Government agencies, banks, credit card companies and employers have their own procedures.
— Whose last name goes first in hyphenation?
The decision is usually based on sound, alphabetical order or personal preference.
— What percentage of brides takes their husband's name?
Though recent research indicates a range spanning well over half, Ask cited one study done at Indiana University last year estimating 80 per cent, with 70 per cent of Americans surveyed saying brides SHOULD take their husband's last name. A recent study out of the Netherlands indicates women who use their husbands' surnames earn an average of about $1,150 less a month than those who keep their maiden names. Name-changers were generally older and had less education.
Presidential daughters over the last four decades have either left their names alone or pushed them to the middle.
At 30 with an advanced college degree and some work experience to her credit (as an investment analyst), Chelsea's a pretty average bride, other than her dad being a former president, her mom secretary of state and her pricey nuptials dubbed the latest wedding of the century. She's off on a top-secret honeymoon with no name announcement yet.
But consider Samantha Saephan, 29, of the San Francisco Bay Area. She's a public relations manager for a large communications firm and will soon dive in to a name change after getting hitched to Sean Thai on May 22. Of ethnic lu-Mien origin, her parents are from Laos and named her Meuang Ay Saephan. She chose Samantha for her public self in middle school but remained Meuang Ay legally and at home.
"I already knew that I wanted to change my last name so I would have my husband's last name," she said. "It's a little bit of being old-fashioned and traditional, and also further down the line when we do have children I'd like to have the same last name as my kids."
Saephan wants to preserve part of her past, a decision made easier by her lack of a middle name. "I'm going back and forth on what part of my birth name I should leave as a middle name so I'll still have something tied to my birth name."
On the table are "Samantha Saephan," "Samantha Meuang Ay Thai" and "Meuang Ay Thai."
Business law professor David Ryan Polgar, 31, in West Hartford, Conn., married Leslie Doane the same day Saephan and Thai wed. Doane legally took her hubby's last name, informally preserving Doane as a second middle name for her work as a real estate agent.
"I want to come up in searches if people look me up under Doane, but the whole process is frustrating," she said.
And the male perspective? "I could never imagine changing my name," her husband said.
Lauren Rotchford, 34, in Atlanta needs more time to make the leap after marrying Randy Holmes on May 8. She wants to change her name, but she's having trouble letting go.
"I think it's important. We're married. He's my husband and I want to show that I'm committed to him," she said. "It's just that I feel like I waited a while to get married and I have experience in my career and I'm known as Lauren Rotchford. It's a little bit harder than I thought it would be."
Until recently, Mary Dean Taylor's feminist side was battling her madly-in-love side over taking on Birkel as she counts down to her wedding in Kansas City, Mo. "He'd really like for me to take his last name, though he hasn't been insistent or vocal about it," said Taylor, 31.
She had a recent revelation to do the extra middle name thing informally and legally take on the hub's surname. That's four names. "My boss is already practising," Taylor said.
In San Antonio, Texas, Alisa LeSueur is confidently on the other end of the spectrum. She was 46 when she married for the first time two years ago. It was husband Rob Salter's second time around.
"There was never a doubt in my mind that I wouldn't change my last name when I married," she said. "It doesn't make sense to me that I should lose my entire identity just because I have chosen one person to share the rest of my life with."
Copyright © 2010 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
i'm a mrs south africa makes headlines...
Apr 19, 2010
i'm a mrs launches in the US
Jul 14, 2010
I’m a Mrs Name Change Service Now Available for Brides in the United States
US brides will now be able to change their name easily for everything from their Social Security Card to their Safeway Club Card
Vancouver, BC (PRWEB) July 14th, 2010 – I’m a Mrs, www.imamrs.com, announced today that it has launched its online name change service nationwide in the United States. The service provides brides with all of the information they need to change their name with every organization they belong to including everything from their Social Security Card to their Safeway Club Card. The service launched in 2008 and services brides in the UK, Canada, Australia South Africa and the United States.
What really sets I’m a Mrs apart is the level of detail. We have personally contacted every organization in our database to find out the step-by-step instructions required to change your name. We include helpful tips to make the process seamless and more efficient, including eco-friendly tips wherever possible to limit printing and postage costs.
“So many brides contact us because they have no idea where to even start,” said Claire Lamont, co-founder, I’m a Mrs. “We have really taken the guess work out of changing your name – providing helpful tips on what to do first, how to save money and time.”
The site offers two packages. The Standard package ($29.95), which includes access to all of the necessary government forms, as well as three additional forms of your choice from our database. The other option is the Premium package ($49.95), which includes access to all forms in the database including government, banks, credit cards, utility companies, alumni associations and loyalty card programs. If you need a form that might be more obscure and we don’t have it, you can email us and we will upload it for you within two business days.
Until August 31st, we are offering US brides our premium package for $29.95 with promotional code ‘MRS USA’.
For more information, please visit www.imamrs.com or contact Jo-Anne Stayner at press@imamrs.com or 604-603-0657.
Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/im_a_mrs and Facebook at www.facebook.com/imamrs
check out i'm a mrs in the news...
Apr 19, 2010
I'm a mrs press release
Apr 19, 2010
The official word is out. Take a look at our press release
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2009/04/c5296.html
our website launches in time for the Christmas Season!
Apr 19, 2010
the 'i'm a mrs' team is thrilled and excited to announce the launch of our name change service at www.imamrs.com. whether you are changing your name, or you know someone else who will be, our name change service can help! it just might be the perfect christmas gift for you or your friend - the gift of time.
