Plot

Marshall is forced to rent a car to get to New York, causing Lily to start drinking and accidentally reveal to Barney some bad news about his brother's marriage.

Robin, Barney, Ted, Lily and James have arrived at the Farhampton Inn for Robin and Barney's nuptials. At a moment when Barney steps away from the table during a meal that the five are having together, Robin, Ted and Lily learn directly from James that he and Tom are getting a divorce. Robin wants to hide this information from Barney as James and Tom's marriage - which broke the Stinson horniness curse - was the reason why Barney felt that he could now commit to one person in marriage. Ted gets an overly sympathetic hotel desk clerk in Curtis, who doesn't think Ted should stay at the Inn as it is designed more for couples than singles. Lily may also fit into that category when she learns from Marshall that he is still stuck in Minnesota and may not make it to Farhampton in time for the wedding. Lily copes with this news with help from a man she meets at the hotel named Linus. And despite sparring with her every step of the way thus far, Marshall may have to join forces with Daphne to get to New York, and places his faith in womankind that Daphne feels the same way.—Huggo

On Friday at noon, 54 hours before the wedding, Ted (Josh Radnor) and Lily (Alyson Hannigan) begin checking into the Farhampton Inn. The man at the front desk Curtis (Roger Bart) is condescendingly sympathetic towards Ted when he reveals he is at the wedding alone and that he used to date the bride. Lily learns from Marshall (Jason Segel) that he missed his earlier flight and heads to the bar intending to drown her sorrows, even paying the bartender, named Linus (Robert Belushi), to constantly place another drink in her hand once it's empty. Lily has the Kennedy Package.

Finding out their rooms aren't ready yet, Ted and Lily join Barney (Neil Patrick Harris), Robin (Cobie Smulders) and Barney's brother James (Wayne Brady) for drinks as Barney reveals a curse that was placed on the Stinsons in early nineteenth-century Russia when two brothers ran over an old Gypsy woman that would cause all Stinson men to constantly be desperate for sex, that no committed relationship could satisfy. Barney believes the curse to be lifted due to James's successful marriage to Tom. However, when Barney leaves to speak to Marshall on the phone, James reveals that he and Tom (Jai Rodriguez) are getting divorced due to James cheating on him. Horrified, Robin begs James not to drop the bombshell on Barney that weekend, feeling Barney's positive feelings about marriage come from James' relationship. James reluctantly agrees only for a somewhat intoxicated Lily to accidentally blurt it out anyway (prompting Ted to ban her from any more drinks, which fail due to Linus, the bartender).

Barney immediately heads to the front desk and Robin, worried that he's freaking out and thinking about leaving, follows and begs him not to just head to a strip club. Barney promises he isn't but had actually come to get the keys to James's room which he had prepared specially for him and Tom for their anniversary (including a banner reading 'Love is Awesome' and a life-size erotic cake of two naked men). Barney assures Robin that even if James is getting a divorce he still believes in true love thanks to her and doesn't plan on going anywhere.

Back in Minnesota, Marshall speaks to Barney on the phone who encourages him to stop acting so nice but instead get more under-handed as it is the only way he'll make it back in time. Marshall refuses, however, he and Daphne find out that all flights to New York are canceled due to a storm meaning the only way he'll make it back in time is to rent a car. Daphne throws one of Marshall's bags into a restricted area (something Barney had told Marshall to do) and by the time he retrieves it and makes it to the Rent-A-Car place he finds himself at the back of a long line with Daphne near the front of an adjacent queue. Marshall prays for a miracle and is dismayed when an old man ends up in charge of his line. The man, amazingly, is actually extremely efficient and Marshall gets ahead of Daphne and snags the last car (even if it is the environmentally unfriendly "Monstrosity"). However, the Rent-A-Car place doesn't have any child seats for Marvin. Daphne tells Marshall that if he gives her the keys, she can go in the car and buy a child seat. Despite the fact she is almost certainly lying, Marshall not only gives her the keys but also money to buy a car seat. Marshall is confident that being nice has finally paid off. However, after being left waiting for a while realizes that Daphne probably isn't coming back. Just as Marshall is about to give up, Daphne returns with the child seat and the two finally head out for New York.

In the bar, Ted asks James how he's coping. James admits that while he's trying to be happy for Barney, he can't help but have a different perspective on weddings now that he knows what comes afterwards isn't always good. The receptionist arrives to tell James his room is ready, and Ted tells him not to give up and promises he won't either. The audience is then shown a flash-forward to exactly a year later, as Ted visits the bar again but this time with the Mother (the first time the two are seen together on screen). The two are clearly very much in love, and Ted tells his partner that he promised himself he would return there with her as he was sitting in the bar. The Mother tells him that he hadn't even met her at that point one year ago. Ted confirms this but assures her he knew she was just around the corner.

In the final scene, Ted is told his room is finally ready only to find it filled with the decorations from James' room much to his dismay.