reclaim|creative bio picture
  • who i am.

    I'm Jeff Short, the founder of reclaim|creative, a Kansas City-based wedding videography company.

    I chose the name reclaim|creative because I believe in taking back what is artistic and creative about wedding cinematography. You won't find cheesy videos here -- just real, emotional films.

    I've spent the last several years photographing weddings with my wife (www.ericamay.com). Through those experiences, I saw a need for compelling film-making to help couples preserve their wedding days (and give them something people will actually want to watch).

    Questions? Ask me through the contact link above!

Big News!

If this is your first time visiting the reclaim|creative blog, welcome! As of today, reclaim|creative and ericamay photography (my wife’s photography company) are teaming up under a new name and website, which can be found here. If you’d like to learn more about our backstory and why that’s happening, feel free to continue reading below!

I’m so excited to announce something that has been in the works for almost a year now! Beginning in early 2011, my wife Erica (of ericamay photography) and I have been working toward something amazing. We decided that instead of running two individual companies — her photography studio and my videography studio — we would to combine forces under one company and name in hopes of collaboratively telling the stories of the people around us through photography and filmmaking. We teamed up with Brought To You By for help with our new branding and the result is: Anecdotally Yours — our new brand! We wanted our new brand and our new mission to be about storytelling, so the name Anecdotally Yours is fitting. We believe that all of our lives are made up of little anecdotes, or short stories that define who we are. Our new mission is to seek out those stories about people — the things that make them unique — and create beautiful photographs and videos about them, whether it’s a story about a wedding day or a day in the life of a family!

So what does this mean for our past clients and current fans? First, it means that instead of having to visit two websites sites to see our work, you can now visit one site to see our photography and video portfolios. Secondly, as a part of our new brand, we have opened a new studio in the Brookside area of Kansas City (7019 Oak St., to be exact). That means that instead of just being able to see our work online, you can now stop by our gallery/studio/office space to see our photographic work hanging on the gallery-style wall or watch our films on a 60″ screen!

We invite you to be a part of our new adventure! To learn more about Anecdotally Yours, check out the video below for a glimpse into our brand development process and visit www.anecdotallyyours.com to explore our website and blog.

no comments

Heidi & Nate’s Wedding Day Film

When I think back on Heidi and Nate’s wedding day, a couple of central themes came to mind. One of those themes was music. Heidi just so happens to be an amazing singer and performer (she sings for the jazz group Heidi Mikhail and the Justic League), so it was no surprise that the music that the couple chose throughout the day was some of the best wedding day music I’ve ever experienced. The breathtaking cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” that I used in the film was performed just before the ceremony by a fiend of the couple, Matt Thornton from Arizona. The couple also booked an amazingly entertaining band named Project Chameleon to play at the reception. They kept the party going late into the night!

Another theme that comes to mind is Heidi’s Egyptian heritage. Many of the wedding guests traveled from around the world to witness Heidi and Nate’s beautiful wedding. From Heidi’s henna art to the belly dancers, camel-shaped cookies and Egyptian-themed cake at the reception, many unique details contributed to making their wedding day special.

Heidi and Nate, thanks so much for letting me film your wedding day.

To see photos of the event, check out the amazing work of imijfoto here!

Lastly, many thanks to my beautiful wife, ericamay, for being my “second shooter” for this event!

Enjoy!

5 comments

AmandaKayR - Things I love:
1. The lady Bug on the Window pain flying to start
2. The intro song
3. The Music matching up to exactly what the Bride is singing
4. The end audio clip “let’s here it for the beautiful couple” as the images fade and the date closes
5. the bride and her authenticity
6. Your (Yes you Jeff we need to meet soon) Wife
—-
you two rock! (I am officially a groupie)
—-
what an awesome memory for a happily ever after couple!
(Goodness gracious I love love!)

Lindsey - Looks great, Jeff! Heidi is right — you’re work is extraordinary. You captured the awesome details of their wedding so perfectly. Looked like a great celebration!

jami nato - seriously beautiful!

ericamay - this video is sooo good. i absolutely love the audio sources that are natural from the wedding day — the music makes it that much better. i also love the creative intro… leaves you wanting more! :)

Heidi Hansen - Jeff your work is extrordinary! We love love love what you and Erica captured…thank you for an amazing keepsake :-)

~Heidi & Nate

Gina & Sal’s Wedding Day Film

Gina and Sal’s wedding day was such a beautiful fall day full of family, friends, storytelling, and laughter. The ceremony was held at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church close to downtown Kansas City, and their reception was in the Argosy Casino ballroom — and fun was had by all! Their family told their story much better than I ever could, so I decided to focus the storyline on the hilarious and touching toasts given by those closest to Gina and Sal.

Thanks to my beautiful Erica (of ericamay photography) for help filming the big day.

Gina and Sal, thanks so much for letting Erica and I be a part of your wedding day!

I hope you Enjoy!

10 comments

andrea - That was such a great video! When do we get to come over to watch all of it? Love you both!

Carol - I LOVED IT!!!!! You captured the day beautifully. It made me want more. We can forever remember our great memories of such a beautiful day. Bravo!!!

Cindy - The video is wonderful. I have showed all my friends at work and everytime I watch it I cry. It was such a special day. You got everyone’s emotions so beautifully.

Joanna - That was so very fun to watch. You two are adorable! Love you both!

Buffman - Crying right now!
You have really captured something beautiful here. Thank you, from someone who otherwise would never have been able to see. Absolutely stunning.

Gina - I absolutely LOVE it! Thank you so much Jeff and Erica for capturing our day so beautifully! I love that I will be able to relive the day by watching this amazing video!! You both are truly talented!

John - WOW Gina!…you are so beautiful on your wedding day. I’m so proud of you and Sal. He is a Grrrrrrreat guy!

Deanna - best wedding video ever!

ericamay - i love this one! gina looks amazing all day, and i love the emotion/facial expressions/happy things that happened all day!

Lynn Paszkiewicz - Beautiful!!

Ashley & Drew’s Kansas City Wedding

I had the pleasure of filming Ashley & Drew’s wedding day late this summer. Their entire wedding day was filled with happiness and beauty. We ventured all over the Kansas City area for photos and video footage before the ceremony and reception at the Boulevard Brewing Company factory near downtown. It was evident that every guest had a great time eating, drinking, dancing and conversing with each other!

Their film contains some of my favorite footage I’ve taken so far. Ashley and Drew’s “first meeting” on their wedding day was charged with emotion, the reception footage looks so dreamy, and the special moments between the two of them dancing were perfect on film.

Ashley and Drew, thanks for letting me be a part of your wedding day. I hope you enjoy the film together for decades to come.

3 comments

Emily - beautiful work, Jeff!!!

ashley parsons - who are those LAME photographers who kept getting in your way??? ;)
great job, jeff!!
ashley and andrew rule.

Chris - absolutely incredible! I totally wish that I was a guest at the wedding! looked like everyone had a phenomenal time! absolutely LOVE the shadow dancing sequences!

Jenna & Calder’s Wedding Film

I had the privilege of shooting an engagement story video for Jenna and Calder several months ago and back then I learned how incredibly in love with each other they are. After filming their engagement story video, I couldn’t wait to film their wedding.

Their mid-Summer wedding in Overland Park was such a joyful occasion and the reception at Terrace on the Green was a great party. Jenna and Calder’s family and attendants gave some of the most heartwarming toasts I’ve ever heard and the entire day was filled with laughter and joy. Congratulations again, Jenna and Calder!

To see their “engagement story” film, click here.

To see ericamay’s photos of the event, click here.

Enjoy!

3 comments

sarah - So beautiful! You are really able to capture how much they love each other!!! Awesome!!!

Melissa - I love your videos…the groomsman “crying” made me laugh out loud. Their three kisses at the altar was priceless!

ericamay - this was such a beautiful wedding! i love the ceremony footage, and her dad’s voice reading the scripture over the footage. so special! :)