Bride Goes Viral After Deciding to Let Wedding Guests Pick Couple’s Last Name

Bailey Richards

6 November 2024 at 6:00 pm·4-min read

Faced with the potential surname "Bonadona-Bartlebaugh" and not wanting to let go of her maiden name, the bride-to-be is having her loved ones weigh in

Getty A stock image of a bride and groom — Getty
A stock image of a bride and groom

TikTok user Danielle Bonadona shared that she and fiancé Jacob Bartlebaugh are currently deciding if they should hyphenate their last names to Bonadona-Bartlebaugh or retain their individual last names
After talking it out via multiple TikTok videos, Bonadona said the couple decided that the loved ones present at their February nuptials can be the final deciders, taking a vote that will determine “if we should hyphenate our name or not"
“I’ve been called ‘Bonadona’ my whole life, and so that’s the name I go by, and so everyone calls me ‘Bona’ or ‘Bonadona,’ ” she explained, adding, “And so it feels almost like changing my first name in a really weird way"

Unsure what to do with their surnames after they get married, a couple has agreed to an uncommon solution: allowing their wedding guests to decide.

Last month, Danielle Bonadona laid out the dilemma she and fiancé Jacob Bartlebaugh are currently faced with in a series of TikToks — which have since amassed millions of views — and revealed the pair has decided to leave the fate of their last names in the hands of their wedding guests.

In an Oct. 10 TikTok, Bonadona, an art teacher, said it all began when Bartlebaugh expressed a desire to hyphenate their last names, but the resulting surname is a bit of a mouthful — and one that evoked a strong reaction from the internet.

“People are going ape s--- over the idea that we could be named the Bonadona-Bartlebaughs,” she said in the video.

Plus, she added in another video, “I just don’t even know if people will be able to f------ say it.”

After talking it out, Bonadona said the couple decided that the loved ones present at their February nuptials can be the final deciders, taking a vote that will determine “if we should hyphenate our name or not.”

“‘Cause the thing is we both really love our last names,” she explained. “Neither of us want to give up our last name, and so yeah, we’re just going to have our guests vote on it.”

Sharing her own personal reasons for wanting to hold onto her surname, Bonadona said “It’s less that I don’t want to lose my last name as that I don’t want to lose the ‘Bonadona’ part.”

“I’ve been called ‘Bonadona’ my whole life, and so that’s the name I go by, and so everyone calls me ‘Bona’ or ‘Bonadona,’ ” she continued. “And so it feels almost like changing my first name in a really weird way, like I couldn’t imagine not having ‘Bonadona’ officially in my name, but I would be happy to include or add his name, which is Bartlebaugh.”

The only two options, therefore, are keeping their original surnames or hyphenating, which results in a “fun and silly” name that “we kind of love,” Bonadona admitted.

Bonadona’s fiancé “is rooting for the hyphenation for sure since it was his idea to begin with,” she told Newsweek. “Personally, I also hope people choose Bonadona-Bartlebaugh at this point, because I think the internet will be mad if our family and friends let them down."

Her tune appears to have changed a bit over time, however, because when Bartlebaugh first suggested hyphenation, Bonadona “thought it was completely ridiculous in a humorous way,” she told Newsweek. “Our names together are so silly, and I thought, ‘We are never going to be able to fill out any forms.’ ”

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There are still a few months until the couple’s wedding — and their hotly anticipated surname vote — but in the meantime, their hyphenation situation has gained a ton of attention on TikTok. The dilemma has inspired songs, a TikTok dance trend, and led strangers to recognize and approach Bonadona in person, she later revealed in a TikTok.

“It is very, very surreal that like half the internet is rooting for our wedding right now,” she explained in an Oct. 31 post.

"It has brought Jake and I so much joy, and I see it as such a positive omen for our celebration,” she told Newsweek. “There's a lot of goodwill being sent out into the universe for us, and it's very touching. I am very grateful to everyone who has engaged with the videos."