Buffy and Willow are dressed in their bridesmaids gowns... much to their horror; they're covered, head to toe, in sea green poofy gowns. They can't believe what they're involved in, especially after last night's dinner when Anya tried to explain her demon friends as circus people while Mr. Harris threw up in Buffy's purse. Meanwhile, at Xander's apartment, he's busy searching for his cufflinks while his house is crawling with people; his own family as well as Anya's friends. Xander's father doesn't take easily to the "circus folk" and continuously makes fun of them. Meanwhile, an old man teleports into Sunnydale. Later on, Buffy helps Xander with his outfit, in particular his cummerbund, which she has difficulty attaching. She start to cry, however they're happy tears. Tara and Willow are busy buttoning up Anya's wedding dress while she runs through her vows. Anya is unbelievably excited because she gets to be with her best friend for life.
Guests start arriving for the wedding; eerie, drunk and just plain weird. Both Halfrek and D'Hoffryn show up with unusual gifts. Spike, as well, appears with a date nonetheless. Clem and another demon try to convince Xander's family that "circus" folk aren't all that abnormal. Xander gives Buffy a few simple rules (mostly keeping his parents away from the bar) before he heads off to meet and greet with his family. Suddenly an old man pulls Xander aside, telling him that he can't get married today. The old man explains that he's Xander Harris from the future. While the old man tries to explain, Buffy tries to avoid any confrontation between the drunken Mr. Harris and the "circus" folk. In another room, the old man shows Xander a crystal ball which takes Xander into the future. He's become a crippled man after helping Buffy in a battle which cost her her life and Anya's still bitter about it. They have two children and managed to stay together for years and years, despite their hatred for each other. They start arguing bitterly and it finally comes down to Xander hitting Anya's over the head brutally with a frying pan. The old man warns a shaken up Xander that all he and Anya will bring each other it pain.
Buffy runs in to Spike and she mentions that she'd slightly jealous of Spike's date, though it doesn't change anything between them. He says it's nice to see her happy again, which he doesn't get to see too often. Willow finds Xander in a room alone, he's kind of awkward but she tells him how much she loves him and how she's excited for him. Anya is going over her vows, which are a little odd. Tara tries to instruct her to not include "sex poodle" in them. Suddenly Willow rushes up to Buffy, frantically telling her that Xander disappeared. Willow rushes off to find Xander and Buffy plans to stall everyone. Buffy bluffs to Anya that the minister had to run off to perform a C-section. Anya continues with her vows, saying she finally understands love, thanks to Xander. Meanwhile Xander is walking around outside in the pouring rain. Buffy informs the minister of what happened while a bored crowd tries to figure out what's going on.
Eventually, Anya starts to get a little irritated, wondering why on earth the minister had to run off to perform a surgical procedure. Buffy tries to keep the crowd entertained by telling jokes and juggling. Dawn starts bonding with a demon over their horrible families. She tells him that Xander ran off and no one can find him when Anya appears and overhears Dawn. Suddenly the Harris family and the demons begin fighting with each other while Anya runs around trying to find Xander. One woman points out the old man that Xander was talking to before. Anya tries talking to the old man, who tells her she's still as vindictive as ever. She doesn't remember him though and he suddenly transforms into an immensely tall demon. He was originally a man she punished when she was a vengeance demon back in 1914. He's been waiting a long time in order to ruin her life as she ruined his. He showed a few nightmares visions of her future with Xander and he ran off immediately. He attacks her violently until Buffy jumps in at the same time as Xander appears at the door. Buffy fights back against the demon and Xander beats him over the head with a pillar that was originally one of the wedding decorations. The fight between the guests continues until Anya yells at them to sit back down in their seats. Anya and Xander talk quietly in a corner and Xander tearfully tells her that he's not ready to get married, even though the visions he saw were fake. She barely knows what to say, yet tries to convince him that he's only shaken up by all of the events that have transpired. But Xander doesn't want to hurt her and apologizes profusely while she walks off, tears streaming down her face. She walks slowly down the aisle, alone, while Xander walks out of the church.
Later that night, Buffy, Willow and Dawn are sitting in the Summers' living room. They're all confused and shocked by the disaster of the non-wedding. Meanwhile, Xander stays in a hotel room while Anya seeks out D'Hoffryn. She tells him she isn't okay and she's tired of crying. He invites her back into the vengeance fold and she looks up at him, silently agreeing.
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Xander: "Now, let's go over the checklist one more time: Number one?"
Buffy: "Don't let your dad near the bar."
Xander: "Check. Number two?"
Buffy: "Don't let your mom near the bar."
Buffy: "Go where? To your place?"
Spike: "Yeah I suppose.. that was the idea."
Buffy: "Yeah.."
Spike: "Evil."
Buffy: "Of course."
Spike: "It's nice. Watching you be happy. For them, even. I don't see it a lot. You, uhm.. you glow."
Buffy: "That's because my dress is radioactive."
Willow: "It's a good thing, I realized I was gay. Because otherwise.. hey, you, me and formal wear..."
Tara: "Uh, I'm not sure you should say 'sex poodle' in your vows.."
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