Day Zero Project: Change maiden name to married name on all official stuff

I really need to get a move on with this. I mean, I've been married three and a half years now and with the exception of my bank accounts, work and some online stuff I've still not updated my name on lots of official and important things (like my library card, then again, I've still not told them I've moved).

It does complicate things slightly when I need official ID. Most places are happy to accept my passport and marriage certificate, however when I went for a job interview at a local nursery they said that it wasn't good enough and I would've needed proper photographic ID.

At the moment though I don't plan on having driving lessons for a while, so I might as well wait to renew my provision license until after it's expired this year, and ditto for my passport. Both expire this year so I'll get those done then.

It can be so complicated to get names changed on things. Honestly, the easiest one to change was the bank. We went in the week after we'd been married with a couple of copies of the marriage certificate and our passports (mine obviously in my maiden name) and they gave us a couple of forms to complete (one for my account and one for joint one) and that was it.

The hardest to change was PayPal. They wanted me to send in proof of my marriage certificate as well as photographic ID with my new name on, a utility bill with my new name on and probably a sworn statement signing over my first born to them as well. After a bit of googling I found out that a far easier way to change my name was to simply set up a new account linked to a different email address to the original, switch the old account to a different email address and then change the new one to the address I was wanting it to be linked to. The old PayPal account has just been left dormant now, you'd think that if the bank can change your details so simply, PayPal would be able to be a little more flexible. I can't see how abandoning one account and setting up a new one is any more secure.

I'm glad that I took my husband's name though. One of the first things I did after we were married was update my name on Facebook. It seemed symbolic somehow. Now I feel like I'm part of his family and I always feel a bit weird when I look at my passport or provisional driver's license, it's like it belongs to someone else now, and that someone isn't really me.

Did (or would) you change your name? How long did it take to update everything?