There's nothing like art that really imitates life, and Tuesday's season finale of NBC's "Parenthood" nailed it big-time with Crosby and Jasmine's wedding. The episode scored so many "just like in real life" moments that we think the producers must have been eavesdropping at a bridal convention. Here are the gems we spotted; any you think we missed?

"Let's just do it, no big planning involved." A perennial favorite -- the quaint idea that a wedding is merely a ceremonial marker to the larger event of committing to spending the rest of your life with someone -- "keeping it simple" should be the mantra. Yeah, right. And then the families chime in. In the fictional Braverman clan, Jasmine and Crosby's proclamation triggered an emergency family wedding with Pappa Bear Zeek doling out assignments with the rigor and finesse of a Marine drill sergeant.

"We'll do it in the backyard and keep it small."
Your cherished moment should be borne witness to, right? Of course! But how many witnesses does it take to record a moment? The Braverman affair was small until Jasmine's mother invited the 17-member church choir, bringing the wedding guest list up to 57 from 40. But the choir sure sounded lovely as the bride came down the aisle.

The drunken wedding party guy.
We celebrate weddings with dance, drink and high spirits -- for the most part. Let's face it, like every other one of life's milestones -- birthdays, graduations, births, deaths -- someone may grow morose when forced to examine and measure their own life. The end result is that (it must be written somewhere) at every wedding, at least one guest will overindulge on self-reflection and generally winds up drunk and face down in the planter. In the "Parenthood" case, Billy the best man passed out before he delivered his wedding toast to the bride and groom and shortly after sister Sarah declines his slurry offer to "get out of here and make magic."

Somebody gets lucky.
Yep, it happens more often than you think. Weddings are the mile-high club of land-based parties. Sex is just in the air. At the Braverman wedding, teenage Drew and his girlfriend Amy shed their virginity while the party dances on outside the bedroom window.

At the end of the day, the bride looks beautiful, everyone remembers having a good time, and the season finale gets great ratings.

Yes, even before you arrive at the wedding ceremony, you can make mistakes that can drive an engaged couple crazy. Luckily, it's pretty easy to avoid committing these offenses.

Send in your response card late -- or not at all.

If you receive a wedding invitation with a response card, make note of the reply-by date. It's usually a few days to a few weeks before couples have to give their final head counts to venues and caterers. If you don't return the card, expect a call (or a text or an email) from the couple or a member of the wedding party. It may not seem like a huge deal for them to get in touch with you, but it's a pain because you're likely not the only guest who couldn't bear to write your name, check a box, and drop an already stamped envelope in a mailbox with four to six weeks' notice.

See more: If you don't believe in marriage, is it okay to do this to married people?

Change your response after the reply-by date.

Brides get it -- things come up. But you should understand that your plate may already be paid for. It's not so egregious to alter your response before the RSVP date (just don't change again!).

Forget to fill out your name on the response card.

Most couples know to number the backs of their response cards and have each number correspond with a particular guest they've invited (on the off-chance that person neglects to write his or her name on the card). But not all couples do the numbering trick, and the process of elimination can't help if multiple guests return blank cards.

Send a wedding gift without a card, or without signing the card.

For the same reason, this is confusing. Registry items purchased online don't tend to list the gift-giver's return address. The couple probably would love to thank you for the thoughtful gift, but how can they if they don't know it was you who sent it?

Send a wedding gift to an address the couple didn't select.

My friend specified that wedding gifts should be sent to her and her fiance's shared home address. One guest thought she had a better idea: Send it to the bride's parents' home as was the norm in the past -- except the bride's parents moved. The gift almost didn't ever make it to the couple because of issues with setting up the forwarding address (it arrived eventually, worse for wear).

Ask to bring a guest.

If you're friendly with a soul other than the bride or groom at an upcoming wedding, don't ask for a plus-one. To stay within budget, the couple may have decided that unattached folks with other friends at the wedding don't get dates. If you won't be happy going solo, don't go to the wedding. The same rule applies to asking to bring children. If you can't or don't want to get a babysitter, decline the wedding invitation. If the couple absolutely wants you there, they may ask why you can't make it and offer to allow you to bring a date or your kids -- feel free to take them up on it if they do. But in most cases, it's better not to bring this up if they don't.