Grey’s Anatomy is full of drama but also some heartwarming moments, and one that will forever live in the memory of the audience is the last-minute wedding of Meredith Grey and Derek Shepherd with a Post-It note, which has a deeper meaning than it seems. Medical drama is one of the most popular genres in the world of television and it has seen some unforgettable TV shows, and the most successful one in recent years is Shonda Rhimes’ Grey’s Anatomy.

Following the basic premise of medical dramas, Grey’s Anatomy follows the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they struggle to balance their personal and professional lives, with these often overlapping and making way for a lot of drama inside and outside the hospital. Grey’s Anatomy is led by Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), who started as an intern alongside characters who went on to become fan favorites, such as Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh) and Alex Karev (Justin Chambers). Over the course of more than 15 seasons, the audience has seen Meredith go from intern to Chief of Surgery and has also followed her through many ups and downs in her personal life, especially with Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey).

Related: Grey's Anatomy: Why Meredith Could Win a Harper Avery (But Not Cristina)

The relationship between Meredith and Derek wasn’t easy, as they had to hide their relationship at first and it was later revealed that Derek was still married to Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh), but after overcoming a variety of obstacles, Meredith and Derek finally got married and formed a family – however, their first wedding wasn’t a traditional one. Derek and Meredith got “married” through a Post-It note where they wrote their vows, and while it was a sweet moment between them, it’s made a lot more special thanks to why Meredith had the Post-It notes to begin with: Cristina gave them to her to follow the tradition of the bride having something new, something borrowed, something old, and something blue.

Derek and Meredith exchange a post-it in Grey's Anatomy

Meredith and Derek had planned a proper wedding but decided to give it to Izzie and Alex when they learned Izzie had stage 4 cancer, and with little to no time to get married, Meredith and Derek wrote their vows on a blue Post-It note in the locker room. The Post-It notes were given to Meredith by Cristina, who once she learned that Meredith and Derek were engaged, wrote an old grocery list on a new Post-It note, with her favorite pen that she lent Meredith, and it was a blue note – something old, new, borrowed, and blue. Meredith took out the Post-It notes when Derek told her they needed to make vows to get married on the spot, and she gave him Cristina’s pen to write them. Cristina was not only Meredith’s best friend but she was her “person”, which in Grey’s Anatomy goes beyond friendship and symbolizes a strong bond like that of a soulmate or a sister/brother, and even though Cristina wasn’t in the locker room when Meredith and Derek got “married”, she was there symbolically.

Cristina isn’t known for being the most open and warm person – quite the contrary, Cristina stood out for struggling to convey her feelings, being cold, and having a hard time empathizing with most patients, so a gesture like giving Meredith something new, old, borrowed, and blue all in one even though they were all in a rush is a lot more significant than it seems. Grey’s Anatomy is full of details like these that have a deeper emotional value than they seem, and while Meredith and Derek’s first “wedding” wasn't a big celebration, the most important people in Meredith’s life were present, in different ways.

Next: Grey's Anatomy's Original Plan: Every Way The Show Was Almost Different