We were supposed to see flashforwards from Ted’s wedding throughout the season but the premier’s end made that a bit confusing and nearly a quarter of the season gone and they have forgotten about it.
I think they are leaving it too late to show the mother now, the show is set and when Ted meets her it will end, if they intoduced her earlier then she could have become a permanent member and we could have continued almost uptil the children were born. Not the case now, everything is set.
I don’t think that was Ted’s wedding in the first episode this season. I think it was Barney and Robin’s, personally. There has been a couple of times this season where Barney got that “look” about him like he did in Season 4 when he first fell in love with her.
The point remains, that How I met your mother is now “How I goofed around in my twenties”. Don’t get me wrong, the show is great for it. I just think that the mother arc has been delayed so much that it will soon become infructuous in any event.
Re the wedding. Who the hell is “punchy”.
Did you watch last night’s episode? It introduced that character.
Actually, he had a very brief appearance once before. I think the episode was called Revertigo…at least, that’s the name Marshall (or Barney?) wanted to use to refer to the personality change that occurs when you’re around someone from your past.
Punchy showed up for like a thirty-second scene where Ted “Revertigo-ed” back to a typical high-school guy who can only express his friendship, admiration, and love for another heterosexual male by being physical violent with him. They punch each other for a while, then Ted goes,
“Dude, seriously!..I’m sorry about your dad dying…”
more punching
So now I retract my earlier statement that it is Barney and/or Robin’s wedding we saw, and say it is Punchy’s. Though I don’t know why Barney and Marshall would be there…they are mild acquaintances and don’t care for him much. But it provides the perfect opportunity to meet the mother. We know she plays bass, so she’s probably in the band. Ted brings the yellow umbrella because it might rain, and she see’s it.
Mother: Oh how weird, I lost my yellow umbrella at a St.Patrick’s Day party at this club that had too many girls!
Ted: Get the Fuck out of here, I found this umbrella at that club the next morning! This is totally your umbrella!
Mother: No way! My old roommate, Rachael Bilson, said I wold never get it back and I’ve been looking for another yellow umbrella for years!
Ted: Wait…you were a roommate of Rachael Bilson? No way! I dated her before she realized she was a lesbian! Was it last year you roomed together?
Mother: It was!
Ted: I totally saw your ankle, and loved the three things of yours that were in Rachael Bilson’s room! Let’s get married!
Ted: And that’s how I met your Aunt Edna.
Kids: WHAT?!?
Have the kids always been listening to the story in 2030, or has that year been pushed as the seasons progressed? I can’t remember.
Yes. The producer also shot extra footage of the kids (& presumably their reaction to the story ending) in advance to deal with the problem of the teen actors growing up.
These two post being consecutive made the last line even funnier. 
The daughter is now the main kid on Nikita.
Good thing too. Because Ted’s daughter started out as a 16 year old moppet who could easily pass for younger. Today she looks like this.
She was also the girlfriend in the movie Kick-Ass.
Considering the kind of stories her Dad has been telling her, not surprising.
I believe that the story is told in one sitting over an afternoon.
Re the shooting additional footage for the series finale, well the mother has not been cast yet and additionally at that time little was known about her, so what could be so secret? Its her identity that is the big thing and as that actress has not been cast yet, what’s the secrecy.
I’m going to go out on a limb and call it now… The wedding is Don and Robin’s.