At the Breakers rehearsal, Phoebe watches the wedding party perform their roles while trying to quiet her own confusion. She ignores a call from her husband, notices how completely the ritual seems to erase earlier tensions between Lila and Gary, and briefly imagines redirecting her desire toward someone else, first by pairing with Jim and later by talking with Roy, whose blunt sexual proposition only makes Phoebe feel more detached.

Back at the hotel for the rehearsal dinner, the celebration looks extravagant, but small strains keep surfacing. Lila is annoyed that Patricia has displayed the giant nude painting again, even though Jim cleverly finds a way to connect it back to Lila. Phoebe senses an unspoken charge between Lila and Jim and imagines the life each of them might be choosing instead. At dinner, Gary and Lila present themselves as a polished couple, Gary's mother repeatedly insists on saying grace before multiple courses, Jim flirts openly with Phoebe, and the table's awkward silences reveal that the two families do not truly fit together.

When Lila decides to cut the speeches so the group will not miss the fireworks, Jim refuses to let the moment pass. His speech begins as a tribute to Gary, but he breaks down when he reaches the memory of Gary caring for Jim's dead sister, and then he recovers enough to praise Gary's loyalty and Lila's force of personality. In front of everyone, Jim also admits that when he first met Lila, he thought he was the one pursuing her, turning a joke into something that plainly unsettles Lila.

In the bathroom afterward, Lila complains that Jim's speech was inappropriate, and Phoebe pushes back. Phoebe tells Lila that Jim loves her, accuses Lila of never really asking what was wrong when Phoebe arrived suicidal, and realizes that friendship requires honesty even when honesty is dangerous. Phoebe nearly confesses her feelings about Gary, but Lila says she cannot handle more honesty and asks Phoebe instead to help her as maid of honor. Lila apologizes for cutting Phoebe's speech and promises to let her give it.

When they return outside, the speeches are overtaken by a new crisis: the hotel has omitted the palate cleanser to keep the party on schedule. Lila melts down over the waste, Jim finally says aloud that Gary is always forced to soothe her over minor details, and Lila retaliates by attacking Jim for clinging to the past and failing to build the seaplane he talks about. After Jim leaves, the emotional damage spreads through the group, and then Juice, drunk and grieving, vomits at the table. Phoebe takes Juice upstairs, comforts her through her sorrow over her dead mother, and realizes with surprising conviction that she herself is okay and still wants to live. Gary later comes to Phoebe's room, admits that Juice is not handling the engagement well, and starts to say he thinks marrying Lila is a terrible mistake, but Phoebe's husband interrupts at the door.