Something Borrowed (How I Met Your Mother)

Infobox Television episode
Title = Something Borrowed
Series = How I Met Your Mother


Caption =
Season = 2
Episode = 21
Airdate = May 7, 2007
Production = 2ALH21
Writer = Greg Malins
Director = Pamela Fryman
Guests = Joe Manganiello (Brad), Rachelle Wood (Woman), David Burtka (Scooter), P.J. Marino (Bartender), Meagen Fay (Janice), Shulie Cowen (Andrea), Thomas Bethke (Gardener), Michael Mantell (Ben), Candice Accola (Amy)
Episode list =List of How I Met Your Mother episodes
Prev = Showdown
Next = Something Blue

"Something Borrowed" is the 21^st episode in the second season of the television series "How I Met Your Mother". It originally aired on May 7, 2007.

Plot

Marshall and Lily are about to get married, however, nothing seems to be going right for either of them. Much to Lily's disgust, Scooter, her high school boyfriend, shows up at the wedding having been invited by Lily's family (even though Lily did not invite him personally), and then tries desperately but unsuccessfully to win her back. Lily also has no flowers for the ceremony, and her harp player is in labor and about to deliver a baby. To top things off, Lily's veil was found ruined, and Lily thinks that the wedding is just falling apart.

Marshall is also having a difficult time, as one of Lily's relatives gave him highlighted tips in his hair, and in an attempt to correct it, he shaves off a patch of hair on his head. Marshall and Lily then see each other, and they are about ready to call off the wedding. However, Ted has a plan. Since both Marshall and Lily always wanted a small wedding in a park, Ted suggests that they go outside, hold a small ceremony like they always wanted, and then go perform the ceremony in front of all of their guests. With Barney recently licensed to marry people, all they need is something to cover Marshall's bald patch, which comes in the form of a fedora.

Marshall and Lily are then married by Barney, in front of only Ted and Robin. Then, without a worry about how the big ceremony takes place, they go inside, and hold the wedding ceremony in front of the family and all other friends. However, no one else knows that Marshall and Lily had been married right before. They then hold the wedding reception, which carries over into "Something Blue."

Notes

* By the end of this episode, Lily and Marshall have been married three times -- once in "Atlantic City" and twice in this episode -- and have attempted to get married four times.
* The song played at the end of the episode is "Love Song", by Haunt.

Cultural references

* The title of the episode refers to the old saying about good luck tokens for brides: "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue."
* After shaving his head, Marshall says he's leaving and never coming back. He's going to go to the rock by the tree with the money and go to the beach in Zihuatanejo. Ted says that they are criminals. Marshall corrects him saying that Andy was falsely accused. This is a reference to The Shawshank Redemption
* The song played on guitar during the impromptu outdoor wedding is Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring.
* The piece played on piano during the opening of the episode is the Menuet from Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks.

Continuity

* Lily's high school boyfriend Scooter, introduced in "Best Prom Ever," reappears in this episode.
* When Marshall and Lily are contemplating where to have sex for the first time as a married couple (the reception hall bathroom), is once again a place where Ted is present. This is similar to the episode "First Time in New York," in which there is a recap to Ted being awake for Marshall and Lily losing their virginity.
* While walking in the park, the guys are trying to decide how to hide the fact that Marshall's head is shaved. Barney makes a suggestion, to which Ted replies, "OK, unless you actually have one in your car, stop suggesting authentic Native American headdress!" However, in Arrivederci, Fiero it was established that Barney doesn't have a license and is scared of driving, making it unlikely that he would have a car unless the car Ted was referring to was a limousine or some other vehicle used for transportation to the wedding.
*In this episode, it was said that their dream wedding was a small outdoor wedding, but in season 1 episode 20, they said that the Van Smoot House was their dream wedding location. However, a wedding in the woods was mentioned as Lily's ideal wedding place in season 1 episode 12.