Dotson Studios » Modern Photography & Design in Chattanooga

We really enjoyed working with Lacie and Chris! We met them at one of the Bridal Shows and then had a great meeting with them later on. We had a lot of fun with them during our engagement session in downtown Ringgold, and I can’t wait to post their wedding soon because it was just BEAUTIFUL!

Their closeness and love for each other was so evident when ever we were around them, and their story is so sweet! We feel honored to have been able to work with them, they really are a special couple.

We hope you enjoy…Lacie and Chris!

How did you meet?
We grew up in church together, but there is 6 years between us so it wasn’t like we were buddy buddy or flirty (until a mission trip ha). Chris actually waited a while on me to decide to date him, and I thought it would be a “fling”. Little did we know we would be here 6 and a half years later!

Anything special you’d like to share about dating?
We have dated for 6 and a half years, but 4 and a half of those were spent 250 miles apart. We found that it was very difficult, and that absence really does make the heart grow fonder! It has been fun to be 10 minutes away from each other and can’t wait to start our lives together from 10 inches away :)

Describe your proposal.
Chris had set up for us to go to an early dinner followed by a “chit chat” on this dock that has some special meaning followed by a small engagement party with our families and our future wedding party. I on the other hand didn’t want to go to eat early and asked Chris how old he thought we were for wanting to eat at 5:30 or something crazy like that! So by the time I killed time getting ready (since that is what I do) we were “late” for all of his plans. We went to 3 restaurants, all with at least an hour wait, only for Chris to say he was too hungry to wait that long. I didn’t feel great anyways for some reason that day and requested to just go to McDonald’s and home! But he took me to the dock for some “relaxing time”. At this point I go to the end of the dock and sit down (apparently Chris was ready to get on one knee, but had to just sit with me). When we finally stood up to leave Chris hugged me and told me that even through all the chaos, he wanted to spend it all with me…and then he got on one knee. Everything was blurry from tears after that, and then we finally got to eat dinner at the engagement party Chris had planned (at the first place we danced at a wedding probably 12 years ago…he even had a picture of it framed from my parents!). What a sweet boy.

What is your ring like?
Gorgeous and SPARKLY! Pave band with a single Radiant cut diamond…He did SO good!

How would you describe the way you feel about each other?
We are best friends through moods and joke, frustrations and triumphs, always finding new ways to appreciate each other and never forgetting to tell each other “I love you.”

Do you have any special plans for your wedding that you’d like to share?
It is outside, so we are praying for good weather. We just can’t wait to see how all the planning comes together, but mostly, we are excited about being married at the end of the day and sharing it with our family and friends!

We are so excited about working with Emily and Dan! We met this couple at a bridal show and Dan is a commercial photographer. Him and Grant enjoyed chatting about all things technical and we are excited about shooting at the Tennessee River Place. Grant met up with them at the battlefield for their engagement pictures and was excited about their connection and how fun they are to be around!

We hope you enjoy their pictures…their wedding is tomorrow and I can’t wait! The weather is going to be perfect and I know everything is going to be beautiful.

Congrats Emily and Dan…you guys are perfect for each other!

How did you meet?
We met online. He asked me out even though I told him I didn’t like camping. On our first date, I accidentally walked in the back door of the restaurant so I surprised him by coming up behind him while he was trying to look cool and casual. I knew he was special when he ordered nutella crepes for dessert. Pretty much my favorite thing ever- his too!

Anything special you’d like to share about dating?
We have fun even doing the most mundane things.

Describe your proposal.
Dan pretended to take a family photo and when he went around to fix hair and adjust clothes and positions he pulled me away and got down on one knee and proposed. I was totally surprised.

What is your ring like?
It’s a round cut in a square setting surrounded by little diamonds with more little diamonds all around the band.

How would you describe the way you feel about each other?
We love each other of course, but the best part of our relationship is that we are constantly cracking each other up.

Do you have any special plans for your wedding that you’d like to share?
We’re riding off on a waverunner!  Also, Dan got a six tier cookie cake for his grooms cake, and we’re having nutella icing for our regular cake.

We really enjoy meeting new couples, each one has a different chemistry, a different story, but they all are so in love. It’s one of the wonderful perks of our job…being around people so happy in love. So when Grant met up with Kacy and Ryan for their engagement shoot, this was one of the things he talked about afterward. We love being around our couples and witnessing their love.

Kacy and Ryan are a couple you love to be around. They are confident in each other, and their love. They were all smiles and relaxed together. Grant really enjoyed their engagement shoot, and I can’t wait to post their beautiful wedding….

We hope you enjoy, Kacy and Ryan.

How did you meet?
Ryan and I met through mutual friends who set us up on a blind date! We talked and talked for hours and both of us instantly knew our connection was something different than we had ever experienced before. Each of our first and last blind date turned out a success!

Anything special you’d like to share about dating?
Knowing from early on in the relationship we would get married, we dated for one year before getting engaged. That year consisted of getting to know each other better, each others families, working on building our careers for the future, and a lot of FUN!

Describe your proposal.
From day one Ryan and I have had a set date night that just the two of us go out to dinner and spend quality time together. On this particular Wednesday in January, Ryan did not eat much at dinner and was in a hurry to get home to watch American Idol. Anyone that knows Ryan knows this is out of character for him not to eat and to WANT to watch American Idol! Reality television, one of my guilty pleasures….not his!  So we finished dinner and headed to his place. Once we got there he grabbed a card and pulled it out of the envelope to give to me saying it was a belated anniversary card for our one year that we had celebrated the weekend before. Not thinking much about it, besides the fact that he had taken the card out of the envelope, I set the card on the table and went about my business. About 15 minutes later I got settled in to watching Idol and decided to “open” the card. In it was the sweetest message about his feelings for me, the past year of our relationship, and our future together. At the end of the card he asked me to marry him and when I looked up with tears in my eyes, he was on one knee with the ring! Of course I said YES! He also had roses he had hidden in the laundry room so I wouldn’t find them.

What is your ring like?
My ring is a beautiful three stone Tacori setting with an emerald cut center stone. It is an absolutely amazing ring and I couldn’t be happier with Ryan’s selection!

How would you describe the way you feel about each other?
Couldn’t imagine spending the rest of our lives without each other! As cliché as it sounds we are best friends who; confide in each other, support and encourage each other, respect each other, have fun together, and love each other unconditionally. We are a team!

Do you have any special plans for your wedding that you’d like to share?
Our wedding is going to be celebrated with our families and close friends. We want the day to be fun for everyone!

We loved Vilma and Patrick from our first meeting with them and we are so excited to be able to photograph them, and their fabulous up-coming wedding! Grant had a lot of fun with them shooting downtown and even in the very spot where Patrick proposed. I loved reading their story so much. They have a unique romance, a strong connection, with a mix of Lithuanian heritage and a love of Halloween…a recipe for pure fun! They are the type of couple that we feel privileged to know and honored to photograph.

We know you will enjoy their story and hope you enjoy their pictures. Stay tuned for the wedding—I promise it’ll be one unlike any other we’ve done before. :)

Enjoy Vilma & Patrick.

How did you meet?
We met in high school in Tennessee, but didn’t really start dating until we were in college. When I (Vilma) was in my sophomore year of college, Patrick and I reconnected online and realized that we live 45 minutes from each other: Patrick was at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland and I was at the University of Maryland in College Park. We met during the Christmas break in 2002 at a friend’s house back in Tennessee and have been together ever since.

Anything special you’d like to share about dating?
Having been together for so long, we have already been through so much, that we know we can make it no matter what life throws our way. We ‘survived’ the Naval Academy, law school, long-distance dating, tough times, sad times and through it all realized that we couldn’t go through life without each other. We have embraced each other’s families and cultures: Patrick’s acceptance and love of my country, family, customs, and food earned him an honorary Lithuanian status. Throughout the years we learned that all we need to have fun is each other and that Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights has a strange power over us, because no matter what is going on around us, when we go there we feel like life could not be more perfect.

Describe your proposal.
Because we had been dating for almost 8 years and had already decided on wedding dates, I had told Patrick that I would not be surprised when it happened and would certainly not cry like most other girls do. Also, when talking about proposals, I had at one time commented on how I know the proposal will not be public, because that would not be like him. I think Patrick took that as a personal challenge. In Lithuania, Christmas Eve is very special, because we do a special dinner that is rich in customs and special foods. Every year we spend Christmas Eve with my family and then go to midnight mass. This past winter we repeated our ritual: Christmas Eve dinner with my parents and then off to the midnight mass at the beautiful Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Chattanooga. After mass was over we were walking out of the church wishing everyone a Merry Christmas when Patrick stopped me on the church steps and started telling me how he feels about me. At first I thought he was just being sweet, but by the second sentence it finally hit me what was happening. He got down on one knee, on the church steps, in front of my parents, the priest, and other people, and asked me to marry him… in LITHUANIAN! Apparently my brother and my dad were in on it, because my brother helped with the Lithuanian translation and my dad was tasked to be the official photographer. When we got home it started snowing, which does not happen often in TN, so the whole night felt really magical.

What is your ring like?
It is simply perfect! It’s a bit unique–although the center stone is a diamond, the sidestones are sapphires. I love the sapphires in it, because that is something Patrick really wanted in a ring.

How would you describe the way you feel about each other?
Vilma: It sounds cliche, but I am marrying my best friend. I truly cannot imagine my life without Patrick.

Patrick: I knew that Vilma was the girl for me before we had even started “officially” dating. I knew in high school that she was a very special person and wanted to get to know her better then, but the time was not right. Everything worked out for the best though. We reconnected at a good time in our lives and have grown together through the years and enjoyed the happy times while working through the sad times. I have to agree with Vilma. I sincerely feel that I have the rare opportunity to marry my best friend and can not fully describe how happy that makes me.

Do you have any special plans for your wedding that you’d like to share?
We are actually doing two wedding celebrations–in Lithuania and also here in the United States. We wanted to celebrate our commitment and love for each other with our family and friends from both places and that would not have been possible if we chose to do it in one place only.