For most brides, planning their big day is a happy time – but not for Jennifer Aniston, whose upcoming wedding to Justin Theroux is shaping up to be one big headache. Any thoughts the couple may have had of eloping to a secret overseas location have had to be shelved due to a heartbreaking family situation that has left Jen in floods of tears – and her dream wedding in jeopardy.

Jen is faced with the unenviable dilemma of having to choose between the wedding she wants and the wishes of her ailing mother, Nancy Dow, who is desperate to be front-and-centre on Jen’s big day. Estranged for years, Jen only reconciled with her 76-year-old mum recently and wants to keep her happy. So, any plans of running off with Justin have had to be put firmly on the backburner. “Jen is caught in a nightmare situation,” says a friend, who has known the 43-year-old rom-com star for 12 years.

“She and Justin both desperately want to elope to a private paradise and avoid the spotlight of another lavish Hollywood mega wedding. They know that if they have a big, glitzy, LA showbiz wedding, everyone will constantly compare it to Brad and Angelina’s upcoming wedding – and that is obviously the last thing Jen wants. “Her wedding to Brad was an enormous fairytale production, with movie stars everywhere and a million-dollar fireworks display. This time she just wants to escape somewhere really private with Justin... just the two of them.”

But this is proving to be easier said than done. Jen’s father, Days Of Our Lives star John Aniston, 79, has given his blessing for the couple to “slip away quietly”, saying he’s content not to walk her down the aisle this time. Jen’s mum, however, long-divorced from John, is far from happy. “Nancy went into hysterics and kept saying, ‘Not again, not again...I can’t miss you getting married again!’” says the friend.

Read more about Jennifer and her mum in this week's Woman’s Day on sale Monday September 10, 2012.