After starting out as the bridesmaid to her best friend Francie's wedding, Eloise McGarry is swiftly 'demoted' two months before the wedding when her boyfriend Teddy, the bride's brother and the best man, dumps her. After switching back and forth on whether or not to attend, Eloise RSVPs, only to find herself seated at Table 19, a table intended for guests who were only reluctantly invited and whom the hosts hoped would not attend. The other denizens of Table 19 are Jerry and Bina Kepp, who own a diner and are Facebook friends with the groom's father due to his own diner chain, Renzo Eckberg, whose parents are acquaintances and came to the wedding in the hopes of meeting a girl, Jo Flanagan, Francie's childhood nanny, and Walter Thimble, a distant nephew who is currently on parole after he was tricked into stealing $125 000 from his last job.
Although the six initially have difficulty finding anything to talk about, they swiftly band together when Jo realizes that Eloise is pregnant, leading to a confrontation with Teddy about dumping Eloise because she said they would be ridiculous parents, the confrontation resulting in the destruction of the wedding cake when Teddy backs into it. Bitter at this development, and feeling unappreciated at the wedding, the Table 19 denizens go to Jo's room to smoke pot and converse about their reasons for attending the wedding. Going out for a walk, Jerry offers Renzo some awkward advice about how to pick up girls, while Eloise realizes that Jo has cancer, Jo admitting that she is probably 'due' at the same time as Eloise will give birth. Remembering a man she encountered earlier, Eloise attempts to find him with the aid of the wedding photographer and the hotel reception staff, but they learn that 'Huck' is actually the groom of another wedding. Deciding to score a small payback and atone for the earlier accident, Walter steals Huck's wedding cake to replace the one damaged earlier.
Returning to the wedding, Table 19 is visited by the bride and groom, the groom noting that his father has always complimented the Kepp diner and Francie assuring Jo and Eloise that she appreciates their efforts. A brief but touching childhood story Francie shares about Teddy inspires the table to see him in a new light, prompting Eloise to shout out an apology to him as the boat carrying the core wedding party sails away. Returning to the wedding hall for the last of the cake, Table 19 asks the band to play them another dance, but the mood significantly changes when Teddy appears, having literally jumped off the boat and swam back to hear what Eloise was saying to him.
A few months later, Jo has apparently died of cancer, but the Kepps are now taking care of her dog, Renzo and Walter have kept in touch with the rest of the Table 19 guests, and Eloise and Teddy are an awkward family with their new son, whom Eloise has named Joe (Jo having noted in an earlier conversation that 'Joe' is a fine name for a boy but caused nothing but trouble for a girl).
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