DEAR Jasminda,

One of my siblings is inviting his new girlfriend to our wedding and insisting she be in the family photos because ‘she’s the one’. The problem is he’s been with ‘the one’ about 15 times before and now we have a heap of lovely family portraits with ex-girlfriends and we can’t display them. I don’t want to hurt his feelings, but I also don’t want to pay thousands for photos that will end up redundant.

Loretta

Dear Loretta,

That’s definitely planning ahead. I like it. I guess past performance dictates that you are no longer confident that he’s found true love that will stand the test of time.

And since you’re no doubt paying for the photographer, you should have the final say.

One solution, and an idea that is becoming more popular, is to have pre-wedding photos for the bride and groom.

This takes away some of the stress of the actual wedding day and gives you a chance to have a trial run.

You may even want to have some photos in clothes other than your wedding attire, because, really, how many wedding photos can be on display in a home?

Another idea is to position her at the edge of any photos.

You’ll then be able to crop her out without too many issues if or when she’s no longer in the picture (which may be the first time I’ve understood what that saying actually means).

You could also have a bit of a heart to heart with your brother about his track record and hence your need to make some alternative arrangements on what is your big day.

Don’t feel too bad. Hopefully you only have one shot at this, so make the most of it.

Carpe diem, Jasminda.