Our Meet the Makers series is all about celebrating accessory designers and their small businesses, which are shaping modern bridal style. From jewellery and veils to shoes, bags and statement finishing touches, we’re meeting the creative minds behind the pieces helping brides curate a look that feels entirely their own.

This brand couldn’t be more aptly named. Glorious by Heidi creates wedding accessories that truly live up to the title – detailed, intricate and handcrafted, with colour, sparkle and an unmistakable sense of occasion. Simply glorious.

The Beginning 

Heidi Reid’s brand emerged organically around 14 years ago while she was working as a local radio presenter. She loved the job, but it had become increasingly stressful and difficult to switch off at the end of the day. As a creative outlet, she began making accessories for herself. She tells us: “The wire work I was using to create those accessories felt familiar as it linked, in a much smaller scale, with the large wire and plastic shopping bag sculptures I’d created as a commentary on waste and pollution for my final year show at the end of a Creative Arts degree at Manchester Metropolitan Uni.”

Friends and family soon began asking Heidi to create accessories for them, too. “When my younger brother got married, my sister-in-law wore an early ‘Glorious’ hair accessory. People I didn’t know started asking me to make something to wear in their hair for their events,” she says. “At that point I started to explore how my hobby could become a fulfilling way to earn a living and be permanently involved in the wonderful and endlessly creative world of weddings.”

Sketch & Sparkle

All Glorious by Heidi wedding accessories are handcrafted to order in Heidi’s Cheshire studio, typically taking between two weeks for smaller off-the-peg designs and up to 20 weeks for a fully bespoke creation.

Whether designing a collection or a bespoke commission, Heidi always begins by imagining the finished story. “What’s the vibe? Am I designing for sleek, chic, city weddings? A wedding taking place on a sun-drenched terrace in Italy? Fun, festival weddings where music, fire pits and fields set the tone?”

Next comes a mood board, bringing together everything from fashion and hairstyles to food, music and atmosphere. “As an avid live music goer, the tunes are so important to me and never fail to bring the picture to life. I also often refer to an iconic celebrity or royal wedding. And then the sketching begins.”

“It’s incredibly important to me that my materials are ethically sourced, so I tend to buy from suppliers that I know, trust and who have their own ethics and sustainability pledges."

Once the making begins, Heidi allows intuition to take over. “I don’t stick too literally to my design sketches at this point, as many of my most loved designs happened by chance.” She points to her bestselling AMINA Crown as the perfect example, explaining that it evolved unexpectedly after the arrangement of crystals reminded her of Queen Mary’s Fringe Tiara. “I’ve been more than happy to make this relaxed approach part of my process ever since.”

Bespoke commissions begin with a discovery call, discussing everything from the venue and outfit to hairstyle, budget and personal style before agreeing a design direction. Every finished piece is then road-tested. “I wear the finished hair accessories for an hour or two around the studio and often put music on to have a dance,” she says, ensuring each design is “comfortable to wear and secure enough” for every moment of the celebration.

The Finishing Touch

Personalisation remains one of bridal’s biggest trends, and Heidi believes accessories are where individuality really shines. “Accessories are where true expression of a person’s unique style can take place,” she says. “Bridal clothing still tends to sit within a relatively traditional framework when it comes to colours and fabrics, whilst hair accessories can be much more experimental.”

Heidi describes a hair accessory as the “punctuation point” of a bridal look. “A hair accessory frames the face and encourages guests to take in the whole picture,” she says. “After 14 years of creating wedding accessories for the most significant day of people’s lives, the moment when someone puts on a Glorious accessory and sees themselves reflected back as complete and ready to go and get married, that’s something so special and makes me adore what I do.”

Heidi is also seeing brides embrace more colour and playfulness. “I think this is being led by a return to a less constrained, more fun, frivolous, eye-catching fashion, chosen by women in the public eye like Lola Young, CMAT, and Chappell Roan, all of whom are wholly embracing non-conformity and self-expression in what they choose to wear for performances and public appearances. I’m so happy to see it!”

What’s Been Your Proudest Moment As A Maker So Far?

“Seeing my hair accessories worn on the most recent Strictly Come Dancing! It’s been a business aspiration of mine since the very beginning, so to see people like Alex Kingston, Amber Davies, and pro dancers Alexis Warr and Nadiya Bychkova shimmy, shake, spin and twirl wearing glittering Glorious accessories in their hair, was an absolute dream come true! It’s also testament to how well Glorious by Heidi accessories stay securely in place no matter how energetically you dance at your wedding!”

_{IMAGES Charlotte Palazzo Photography}

_{WORDS Anna-Marie DeSouza}