Plot

It's the year 2030 and an older Ted Mosby is telling the story to his son and daughter about how he met and will eventually marry their mother. This is where we meet for the first time Ted, Lily, Marshall, Barney and Robin.

In Brooklyn, Marshall Eriksen, a terribly insecure, sissy but sweet law student, pops the question to his assertive girlfriend Lily Aldrin, in an inadvertently explosive way (with champagne). This makes their year long cahoot, Ted Mosby, anxious that he may be left all alone. His overbearing 'other best friend', Barney Stinson, forces Ted to play a 'pick-up' game in the bar where he has decided to hunt for Lebanese girls. To both their surprise, Ted actually meets a suitable girlfriend, TV reporter Robin. As soon as he sees her on TV, Ted rushes to her apartment (with five dogs) to declare his love - while the others wait in Bangladeshi Rajit's cab- which startles her.—KGF Vissers

In the year 2030, fifty-two year old Ted Mosby sits his two teen-aged children down to tell them the story of how he met their mother. Despite his kids being disinterested, Ted proceeds with the story, which started twenty-five years earlier in 2005. Ted, just starting his career as an architect, was living in New York City with his best friend and Wesleyan University roommate Marshall Eriksen, a second year law student. Their life was just about to change as Marshall planned to propose to his longtime girlfriend, kindergarten teacher Lily Aldrin, who they also met at Wesleyan. As Ted, Marshall and Lily hung out together as a threesome, Ted felt he needed to find his own love, despite another of his friends, perpetual suit-wearing, blog-writing, womanizing Barney Stinson, telling him no one should get married before age thirty. Just then, Ted spotted across a crowded bar a beautiful woman who he believed was destined to be his wife. She is a dog-loving on-air reporter. They ended up going on a protracted first date which ended "unfinished". After getting advice from Marshall, Lily and Barney, Ted vowed to finish the date with a grand gesture, which ended up being a little grander in a psychotic way than he imagined it would be. Ted finishes this phase of the story by telling the kids that's how he met their "Aunt" Robin Scherbatsky.—Huggo

In 2030, Ted Mosby (voiced by Bob Saget) is telling his teen-aged children Penny (Lyndsy Fonseca) & Luke (David Henrie) the story of how he met their mother. They are not amused.

The story flashes back to 2005, where 27-year-old Ted (Josh Radnor) helps his best friend and roommate Marshall Eriksen (Jason Segel) prepare to propose to his girlfriend, Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan). Lily had just come home from her school, where a 5 yr old went to second base with her on finger painting day. Marshall is too scared to open a bottle of champagne, but manages to propose to Lily and they have sex on the kitchen floor

Ted is just starting his career as an architect and lives in New York. Ted and Marshall are college friends. Marshall is studying to be a lawyer Ted was there when Marshall met Lily in college and witnessed their first night together (he was on the top bunk)

At MacLaren's pub, Ted confides to his friend Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris) that their engagement has made him reconsider his life and made him realize that he wants to get married. Barney, a womanizer who despises relationships, insists that Ted should remain single so that he can continue being his "wingman". Barney believes that Lebanese girls are new half Asians. Barney had met Ted at the urinal of the bar for the very time and decided to take him under his "wings". Barney loves to dress in suits and hates marriage

He introduces Ted to a woman using one of his catchphrases-"Have you met Ted?". Ted and the woman talk (Yasmine, who is Lebanese), and he asks her out, but it turns out that she is going out with the bartender, Carl (Joe Nieves). Ted then sees Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders) across the bar, with whom he is instantly smitten. Robin is a reporter for Metro News One who wants to cover important news, but is now covering inconsequential local human interest stories (monkey who can play the ukulele). Ted asks her out to dinner, but she says that she will be out of town for a week. Ted asks her to dinner the following night, and she accepts.

Ted's perfect woman loves dog (Robin has 5), loves scotch (loves scotch old enough to order its own scotch) and can quote obscure lines from the Ghosbusters and hates olives (which is perfectly balances since Ted loves them)

Ted and Robin hit it off at dinner (where she is impressed by the blue french horn hanging on the wall), and she then invites Ted to her apartment (to take away her last jar of olives). Just as Ted is about to make his move, however, Robin is called in to cover a news story. Back at MacLaren's, Ted's friends tell him that he should have kissed Robin before she left as she was giving him the obvious sign of a prolonged stare while they shook hands when he said he's a good hand shaker. Ted, accompanied by the gang, goes to her apartment, after stopping by the restaurant where they had their first date and stealing the blue French horn that she had admired. Ranjit (Marshall Manesh) is their cab driver, he is from Bangladesh. While waiting in the cab, when Lily goes to the bathroom, Barney confronts Marshall that he saw him eating olives just 2 weeks ago. Marshall admits that when they first met (when he was 18 and still a virgin), Lily asked for his olives and he blurted that he hated them.

When Robin gets off work, she and Ted resume their date. Just as they are about to kiss, however, Ted tells her that he is in love with her, destroying his chances with her. After a lingering goodbye, he returns to MacLaren's with the gang, assuming that he will never see her again. Future Ted tells his children, "And that's the story of how I met your... Aunt Robin"; with this, he mentions Robin's name for the first time. The children are confused, as they had assumed he was talking about their mother. Ted reminds them that "it's a long story".