On Monday, my daughter decided to get married on Friday. Today, that is. Four days after she and her fiance decided to go ahead with the ceremony.

How did it turn out?

Remarkably well. Really well.

It became a sort of social “barn-raising” — with help and effort coming from a variety of sources, mostly from family but also from unexpected sources.

One person bought two bridesmaid dresses — for herself and for her sister-in-law on the other side of the country.

A parent ordered a two-tier cake to be done in two days and brought flowers and corsages. A brother ordered a large amount of food from a rib joint, and he and his wife delivered chairs and a table. An aunt sent along an ornate flower arrangement.

Another parent bought champagne for toasting.

A brother-in-law volunteered to be the official photographer and produced professional results. He took hundreds of photos and about 90 percent were images that the newlyweds will want to keep, and dozens of them were extraordinarily fine photos.

The soon-to-be-marrieds did more work than anyone. The whole of the concept was theirs, too — a wedding while so many members of the family were in town. They arranged for mixed drinks, decorations for the small room (the “hall”) where the food and drink were placed, a map of the world with stickpins to show where all the attendees live, packages of paper-and-water colors for the attendees, asking them to do a bit of art and send it along for a scrapbook. And more.

They also did the marriage license, of course, and found a jolly guy who can legally do marriages.

And we conducted the whole of it at the beach-side apartment several of us have been staying at for a week. It was picturesque, after all, and the weather was perfect …

The bride and groom stood on a little grassy rise between the apartment and the sand. We had rented an extra room, adjacent to the patio where the 20 spectators could watch the proceedings. The place was decorated with paper flowers, and several varieties of libations were served.

After some readings, and several champagne toasts to the beautiful bride and dapper groom, the BBQ feast was served, set up on a long table the landlord had told us about and the apartment manager set up — after he had produced extra plastic chairs and wiped down every bit of furniture on the patio.

And a 2-year-old amused everyone by charging around the place, giving high fives,  filling a cup again and again so he could water plants, and sometimes carrying a football.

It was fun and it was nearly miraculous, so many aspects of the traditional wedding produced and delivered in just four days. All of the charm, a fraction of the cost!

And when it was over, we had a son-in-law.

After the dinner and the cake and the chatting and congratulations … we took it all apart again, and put things away. Nearly everyone pitched in. And we sent home extra food with people not planning to leave the city in the next 12 hours. As everyone left, they marveled at how well everything had turned out; weddings months, years in the making are not as much fun.

It was a memorable final day in California.