Today we’d like to introduce you to Ali Hadley Rich.
Ali, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’ve been a storyteller of sorts for as long as I can remember. It started back when I was a kid thanks to my camera-wielding Director/DP/Editor of a father. My dad taught me how to edit on Final Cut Pro when I was 10 or 11 and from then on I was making very “high brow” home videos. (This is a joke.)
I always knew I wanted to be in the entertainment industry in some capacity but how I ended up in weddings is a long story. This was never initially a goal of mine. After high school, I actually really wanted to get a degree in acting but when I didn’t get into any of the schools I auditioned for I pivoted and applied to film school at Columbia College Chicago thinking that way I could do a little bit of everything and eventually end up in LA – which was always my long-term goal.
These were pivotal years for me as a human being. Though grueling at times this season really molded me into the person I am today. In hindsight I’m so grateful I went there because I got significantly more hands-on experience than my peers who went to the Ivy League schools I didn’t get into. (Not salty at all!)
After I graduated I moved to Los Angeles and landed a desk job at a talent agency in Beverly Hills. More on this later but the abridged version is that a year and a half later I decided to move back home for a bit to catch my breath. I resisted it at first but really came to love Kansas City as an adult.
Kind of on a whim, I applied to work at a local production company called RW2 Productions owned by photographers The Wade Brothers and renowned retoucher Judy Rush. I was hired as their Post Producer and worked there for 3 years. RW2 is a small, family-run company that works hard to bring big brands and productions here to KC which I appreciated a lot. I learned so much about running a business during my time there.
Simultaneously my sister, a K-State alum and camera hobbyist herself, was approached about shooting a wedding for one of her sorority sisters. She asked me if I’d be interested in helping her for a few bucks (we shot our first wedding for $500.00 and split it two ways) and of course, I was down. I was eager to pick up a camera after a couple of years of exclusively administrative grind. This first wedding went so well that we continued to shoot them for friends of friends for a couple of years. And much to my surprise, I started to feel really fulfilled by the work.
We leaned in – upgrading our gear and constantly looking for ways to improve and elevate our production value. Our “big break” came when I met my friend Stephanie, the event manager of The Guild (a popular venue in the heart of the Crossroads district also owned by The Wade Brothers), and she hired us for her wedding. It was around this time we officially named our business and kind of blew up thanks to Stephanie’s referrals. We got some great press online from Wed KC and The Pitch and developed a little reputation pretty quickly.
Two years later in the fall of 2020 (wow, what a time) I decided to quit my job to run Her Third Eye full-time. My sister pursued a job in Denver and has since moved but I know without a shadow of a doubt that Her Third Eye wouldn’t be what it is today without her. She was a fundamental part of its conception and success.
I’ve been a full-time wedding videographer for a year and a half now. Since going full-time I’ve been able to grow the business in ways I wasn’t able to previously. For me, this has meant more travel (international and domestic) and more projects.
In 2022, I’ll be filming 31 weddings all-in and traveling to Cabo, Florida, Ireland, Chicago, Denver, St. Louis, Puerto Vallarta, and Philadelphia. If you’d told me 10 years ago this is where I’d be I would’ve written the idea off completely. It’s funny because I’ve never felt more at peace about my career than I do right now. Siri, play: Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not. So much bumpy road. One of the toughest seasons for me was when I was pursuing a life and career in Los Angeles. It was a total grind and candidly I was very miserable for the year I had my job at the talent agency.
Think Anne Hathaway’s character in “The Devil Wears Prada”. I was an underappreciated assistant getting yelled at and gaslit by my employers for 12+ hours a day for next to no money. I was learning more here than I ever did in any of my producing classes as an undergrad… but the environment I worked in pretty quickly resisted me.
This disillusionment with the entertainment industry caused me a lot of anxiety about my future and greater purpose because I had put all of my eggs in the Hollywood basket since I was a child. I’d worked for 20+ years for this and now that I had it I really just resented it and everything it stood for.
I genuinely didn’t know what I wanted to do anymore and no longer felt creative because I was so burnt out. The decision to leave LA was incredibly painful for me. I wrestled with the decision for about 6 months before breaking up with my boyfriend at the time and pulling the plug on LA. I felt so weak and saw myself as a quitter.
But the truth is, I was just miserable in LA. When I finally came back to KC I was really struggling with my mental health – but thanks to my family, friends, and a very patient therapist I was able to find closure, heal, and start over. And this do-over ended up being one of the best things to ever happen to me.
After I committed to staying in Kansas City I ultimately found a career I’m passionate about, met my amazing partner and now husband, and co-founded a community of like-minded women just like me to make art with – they’re called Story School go look them up!
Similarly, the decision to leave the safety of my 9-5 job amid a global pandemic and dive headfirst into my business was… really hard. I knew it was time to move on but change is hard for me. That said if I had one piece of advice (especially to the ladies out there reading this) do NOT be afraid to quit your day job. You have no idea how much more you’re capable of.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
This is going to sound cheesy and I’m sorry in advance. But for me, a wedding video is so much more than just that. It’s so much bigger than the viral videos you watch on Wedding TikTok.
It’s authentic documentation of your family’s legacy. I’m very close to my family. My parents and grandparents are some of my greatest inspirations and my sister and brother are my best friends. Whenever we’re all together we drink Bourbon, pour over old photos, videos, and memorabilia, and swap stories until late at night. For my grandma, these photos and videos are precious gold. They’re all that she has left of her family. Of my grandpa.
So on a wedding day (often one of the most cherished days of my client’s life and one of the only days they’ll ever have all of the people they love in the same room) it’s imperative that the day is captured well. The pomp and circumstance are fun but the people, the emotions, the words and stories spoken over these couples – to me these things are so much more important.
This kind of storytelling can be hard to rationalize in a culture obsessed with 10-second TikToks and vibey Instagram reels… believe me I’m tested every day. But ultimately I want my clients to be able to watch their films 30+ years from now and be brought back to those same wedding day feelings.
To be able to hear their parent’s voices. To watch their best friends cry at the altar next to them. To laugh at the music that’s going to be considered oldies in the 2050s. I want them to laugh and cry and get hit with all of that beautiful nostalgia again and again!
Going viral should be the least of our worries as wedding filmmakers. This is ultimately what I think sets Her Third Eye apart from others
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
My dad has been my creative role model forever and my biggest motivator in all things filmmaking. He’s still my go-to whenever I have questions or find myself in a technical crisis.
My mom, my dad’s producer back when they owned their production company together, is my emotional sounding board and business guru. Behind every dad is a mom who is secretly running the show. Don’t get it twisted! I cannot thank them enough for paving the way for me and supporting me through film school, cross-country moves, panicked job changes, and countless tax seasons. I’m so lucky.
My sister, Meggie, Her gentle spirit and ability to connect with others is one of the things that I believe set the tone for Her Third Eye. She has always tethered us to reality over the years and reminded me to stay present! We put our blood, sweat, and tears into getting this business up and running together and I’ll be indebted to her forever.
My husband, Matt. While I’m working 60-70 hours a week he’s cooking, cleaning, pet-wrangling, and acting as a live-in therapist. Without his pep talks and sense of humor, I would’ve walked right off that ledge a few times. Thanks, babe!
My cheerleaders at “Story School”. Story School is an inclusive community for creative folx in KCMO and is women founded & operated. I owe my sanity over the last few years to this group of people! They’ve healed my crusty, jaded heart! They’ve pushed me and given me opportunities to flex creative muscles I have not had access to in many years. They’ve also invested in H3E themselves – a couple of them second shooting for me on a regular basis.
Being a business owner or freelancer can be isolating at times. Thanks to these people, I know I’m never going at it alone.
Pricing:
- 2023 packages start at $4,350
Contact Info:
- Email: ali@herthirdeyeproductions.com
- Website: https://www.herthirdeyeproductions.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/herthirdeyeproductions/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/herthirdeyeproductions
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@herthirdeyeproductions
Image Credits
Tarmine Guichette, Megan Hadley, Poemas de Barro.
