In the second season finale of How I Met Your Mother, Alyson Hannigan’s character, Lily, tied the knot with her long-time boyfriend, Marshall, played by Jason Segel.  However, as with any wedding, some things were bound not to go exactly as planned.

“Look, I’m not going to stress out about every little thing.  I’m marrying Marshall today, and nothing can ruin that,” Hannigan’s Lily said in one of scenes in the show’s special two-part season finale.  Hannigan told the Associated Press that she understood what her character was going through in the particular scene, remembering her own nuptials, which was relatively quiet, to actor Alexis Denisof.

“I definitely related to the whole, ‘OK, I’m not going to stress out,’” Alyson Hannigan said. “[Alexis and I] had our perfect wedding. Nothing major went wrong. Not that I knew of. But the wedding planner probably had a coronary a couple of times.”

The 33-year-old actress first met Denisof, who plays anchorman Sandy Rivers in How I Met Your Mother, while she was still working on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Denisof joined the cast during the cult hit’s third season, playing watcher Wesley Wyndam-Price.  After a year of being friends, the two began dating, and on October 11, 2003, were wed at Two Bunch Palms Resort in Desert Hot Springs, California.

Although she enjoyed working on the cult hit series, Alyson Hannigan decided to pursue sitcom work after Buffy the Vampire Slayer ended because the rigors of an hourlong series proved very demanding.

“Also, I just love comedy and wanted to focus on that,” she said.  “I really responded to the fact that in the script for the pilot episode [of How I Met Your Mother], you not only got to be funny, but also played real emotions.  I still have that side that loves drama and loves to go there.”

The hit comedy series is not the first to have presented Hannigan with the opportunity to take on a comedic role.  In 1999, she played flautist Michelle Flaherty in American Pie, and reprised the role in the film’s sequels.  More recently, she starred in the spoof film, Date Movie.

“People often ask me, ‘What would you have done if you hadn’t been able to do this?’ I just can’t come up with a good answer, or a truthful answer, because I just don’t know,” Hannigan said.  “I would watch The Brady Bunch and want to be Cindy Brady.  I just wanted to be in that world.”

-Lisa Claustro, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: Albuquerque Tribune
(Image Courtesy of CBS)

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Staff Columnist, BuddyTV