The Wedding People

The Wedding People (2024) is a work of contemporary fiction by Alison Espach. Set in Newport, Rhode Island, the novel follows Phoebe Stone’s journey to recover her purpose and sense of self while unexpectedly situated among a group of weddinggoers. The story explores themes of Navigating Societal Expectations in Marriage, Love, and Intimate Relationships, Motherhood and the Expectation of Sacrifice, and Cultivating Unexpected Connections to Find Fulfillment Amidst Life’s Challenges. The Wedding People was on several bestseller lists, including The New York Times, featured in the Book of the Month, and selected as a Today Show Read With Jenna book club pick.

This guide refers to the 2024 e-book edition published by Henry Holt & Company, an imprint of Macmillan Publishers.

Note: The e-book edition used for this guide divides The Wedding People into chapters that are unoriginal to the print publication. This guide incorporates the chapters for organizational purposes.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide include discussions of infertility, pregnancy loss, and suicide.

Plot Summary

Protagonist and main character Phoebe Stone arrives at the Cornwall Inn in Newport, Rhode Island, wearing an elegant green dress and carrying no luggage. She has just fled St. Louis, Missouri, where several disparaging years of infertility challenges, her husband’s affair, divorce, career struggles, COVID-19 isolation, and the death of her beloved cat, Harry, worsened Phoebe’s symptoms of depression. She plans one final night of indulgences before attempting to die by suicide. However, when Phoebe checks in to the Cornwall Inn, she realizes she is the lone outsider amidst a group of weddinggoers for Lila and Gary’s week-long wedding party. Mistaking Phoebe for one of Gary’s family members, Lila gifts Phoebe a welcome basket and joins her on the elevator ride to Phoebe’s suite.

Phoebe cares less about “pretending,” and she explains to Lila her intention to die by suicide. Exasperated, Lila declares that Phoebe cannot die, as it will ruin her wildly expensive wedding week. Lila explains that is was the dying wish of her father, Henry, that she marry Gary. Henry died during pandemic isolation and left Lila $1 million for her wedding. Lila planned every detail of her wedding week with extravagance.

Moreover, Lila is terrified of failing to honor her father’s memory and legacy. Lila departs for the opening reception. Phoebe attempts to accomplish her final tasks before dying, but nothing goes as planned. When Phoebe swallows a bottle of Harry’s pain medication, she hears Patricia, Lila’s mother, give an unflattering speech about Lila. Phoebe forces herself to vomit the pills so she won’t miss the end of Patricia’s speech.

Phoebe wakes in the middle of the night, thankful to be alive. She enjoys the hotel’s hot tub, and a handsome stranger soon joins her. They enjoy a fun conversation, and Phoebe speaks honestly about not wanting to die by suicide anymore. When Phoebe invites the stranger to her room for sex, the man reveals he’s not single. Lila enters Phoebe’s room the following morning and orders her coffee and breakfast while complaining about her mother. Lila insists Phoebe stay for the week of wedding events; she finds clothes for Phoebe and insists she accompany guests on a sailing excursion. On the drive to the wharf, Phoebe meets Lila’s bridesmaids (Nat and Suz), Lila’s future sister-in-law (Marla), and future stepdaughter (Juice). Phoebe senses tension between Lila and her future family members.

Lila introduces Phoebe to her fiancé, Gary, at the wharf; Phoebe is shocked to recognize him as the man from the hot tub. Before they can talk, Juice’s virtual pet dies—a gift from her deceased mother and Gary’s first wife, Wendy. Phoebe offers to conduct a funeral on the boat. Juice and Phoebe bond as they say goodbye to invisible bonds: Juice to a significant tie to her mother, and Phoebe to the children she will never have due to infertility challenges. Afterward, Phoebe enjoys a more fun conversation with Gary and his best man, Jim, who is Wendy’s brother. She can sense Lila’s irritation with the makeshift funeral. Phoebe watches Lila and Gary together; their relationship seems staged.

Phoebe’s irritation with Lila develops alongside their unlikely friendship. Lila complains excessively about minor details and misunderstood relationships. She asks Phoebe to be her maid of honor, which Phoebe accepts. Her connection to the wedding party puts Phoebe near Gary and Juice, whom she begins to adore. The festivities are a strong distraction from Phoebe’s life in St. Louis, though Phoebe’s ex-husband, Matt, calls and texts Phoebe nonstop. After her bachelorette party, Lila confesses that she doesn’t want to marry Gary. Phoebe stops Lila from calling off the nuptials in the middle of the night. The following morning, Lila acts as if nothing has changed and the wedding will continue as planned.

Phoebe spends individual time with Jim, Juice, Marla, and Patricia, getting to know Lila and Gary better from their perspectives. Eventually, Gary confesses his attraction to Phoebe; he explains that he feels like himself around Phoebe, a feeling Phoebe reciprocates. Phoebe also learns that Jim and Lila have harbored a strong attraction to each other. Just when Phoebe decides to explore her allure for Gary, Matt arrives at the Cornwall Inn and begs for Phoebe’s forgiveness. He proposes they start a new relationship and consider adoption. Although she wants to speak with Gary, Phoebe spends the night with her ex-husband.

Phoebe resolves to ensure Lila’s wedding day is perfect. However, Lila calls off the wedding when she proves inconsolable after a minor detail doesn’t go as planned. She confesses to Phoebe that she doesn’t love Gary, and Gary doesn’t love her how she wants to be loved. Lila feels ashamed for wasting so much time and money, but Phoebe declares that the wedding saved her life, a feat that most successful weddings do not accomplish. Phoebe denies Matt’s request to restart their relationship. She decides to leave her job as an adjunct Victorian literature professor and focus on her professional writing while she works as a winter keeper for a Newport mansion. She plans on adopting a dog that Juice found for her at the local animal shelter. While she and Gary don’t make any concrete plans to meet in the future, Gary suggests that Phoebe reach out once settled into her new job. Phoebe leaves the Cornwall Inn with a refreshed claim to her identity and future.