There are elements of a wedding that can be done weeks in advance - the table plan, the place names, the speeches (if you're super-organised) - but there's one thing that can't be done until the eleventh hour - the final preen.

When it comes to getting wedding-day ready, it's not just hair and make-up that most brides want.

With so much attention on one's ring finger, a manicure is a must if chipped polish is your usual style, and then there's the toes. Even if your wedding shoes don't offer a peek of your feet, they will have more than ample exposure on your honeymoon, and it'd be a shame to let the side down with unruly toenails.

It doesn't stop there - eyelash tinting means you won't look like Morticia Adams if you end up getting overcome with emotion on the day - and eyelash extensions, glued firmly in place, will avoid the undiginified "caterpillar stuck to the eyelid" look if you try experimenting with DIY false eyelashes.

Then there's eyebrow plucking and tinting - a make-up artist once told me that groomed eyebrows do more for your face-shape than a whole bucketload of make-up could.

Finally, there's the waxing - legs, underarms, bikini line and more besides. It's not spa pampering, but it'll leave you feeling a million dollars.

So - where to head for this preening? My choice was Groom at Selfridges in London.

It's central (just a few minute's from Bond Street), so you can tie in a visit with any last minute purchases, be it thank you cards, accessories, presents, favours or wedding business - in my case, collecting my wedding dress from Browns Brides, just round the corner.

The other benefit of Groom is its pricing structure - you can pay for treatments individually, or opt to pay for therapist hours, or half-hours, and you can opt for two therapists at once, so you don't have to waste precious time in the salon.

I spent two hours in there one morning, three days before my wedding, and came out feeling wonderful. I felt like the sort of refined and immaculately-groomed lady you see in the designer handbag department of Selfridges - the ones who wear loafers and white skinny jeans and seem to be genuinely pondering a four-figure purchase.

Groom is not the sort of sybaritic bathrobes-and-mint-tea experience that you find in a day spa - although you could add a 30-minute relaxing massage to your package for £30 - but what you get is professional therapists, reasonable prices for central London, and the full range of last-minute treatments that will leave you feeling aisle-ready.

For details on these treatments, prices and a full review of Groom, click here.

More last-minute spas for brides:

The Lowry, Manchester - city centre spa with good range of salon treatments

One Spa, Edinburgh - salon treatments plus spend some time relaxing in the Roman-style pools and saunas

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