The First Year of Marriage: How to Change Name After Marriage?

Is it traditional for the bride to drop her middle or last name if she chooses to take her husband's name?

It's long been tradition for the bride to take her husband's last name, and traditionally, she drops her middle name and keeps her last (her "maiden" name) as her middle name. Her husband's last name then becomes her new last name. That's only the most common way of doing things, however -- what your name becomes (or stays) after you're married is entirely up to you.