Dotson Studios bio picture

Welcome!

We are Grant & Sara Dotson. As a husband and wife team, we bring a unique perspective to photography, one influenced by life experiences as well as comprehensive art and design training. Our cameras are an extension of not only our eyes, but our minds and hearts, instantly capturing moments and emotions just as they occur. We enjoy getting to know our clients on a personal level and helping them feel that they're a part of a partnership. Every client is different, and our photographs seek to reflect each individual personality for truly unforgettable memories.

 

Photo of Grant: Courtesy of Jamie Weiss. Thanks Jamie!

 


Category Archives: Weddings

Vilma & Patrick’s Wedding

Vilma and Patrick’s wedding was a unique and very special opportunity for us. We’ve never had the opportunity to photograph a couple that was already married…they had two weddings! One in Lithuania and then one here in the States. There was a fabulous mix of Lithuanian traditions, a couple Native American traditions and a love for Halloween. It all made for an unpredictable day that was pure fun. It will go down in my memory as one of my all-time favorites.

We started out at Level 10 Salon and then to The Cosmetic Market. Both were neat places that we’ve never shot at before! Then we were on to the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul for an amazing ceremony and then to Lindsay Street Hall for the reception which is always so beautiful! Vilma and Patrick were a fun and attractive couple who’ve been together a long time. Being around them was a treat.

We loved this wedding…we hope you do too!

Congratulations Vilma and Patrick!

How did you decide on your dress?
My Mom and Sister came down to Atlanta to go dress shopping with me. I tried on a couple of dresses at Bride Beautiful and we all agreed that it was between two of them. My Sister and I were leaning towards a simpler one, and had already started talking to the sales person about alterations, when my Mom asked me to put on the other one one more time. I walked out of the dressing room and was walking towards my Mom and Sister and before I could even get close my Mom started crying! I knew right then that there was no way that I could get the other dress. The way I felt in my dress at both wedding celebrations only confirmed that I made the right choice. I’m still looking for a good excuse to wear the dress a third time. :)

What was the most memorable moment about your wedding day?
Vilma: Walking down the isle to Ave Maria in the beautiful Sts. Peter and Paul Basilica and getting just as emotional saying the vows here in English as in Lithuania…

Patrick: Here in the U.S. my most memorable moment was the first look. Grant and Sara did an amazing job of setting the stage. I just remember turning to see my beautiful bride for the first time (that day) in her dress framed by the hallway in the Sheraton Read House and having my breath stolen away and feeling the smile spread across my face. My second most memorable moment was having to ask my bride for her card to pay for a round of shots of Jameson for myself and my groomsmen at the hotel. I forgot my card in the hotel room :-).

What are three words you would use to describe your day?
Fun Personal Romantic (If we could only use one word, we’d say Perfect!)

What did you enjoy most about planning your wedding?
Planning two very different wedding celebrations, in two different continents, in a short amount of time was beyond stressful, so even though planning and picking out things was fun, the most enjoyable part of the planning was seeing it come together on the day of the wedding. We were also very touched by everyone who offered their help, since we were doing the planning ourselves.

What was your favorite detail of the wedding?
Vilma: Although we loved the whole wedding day, because we had a chance to celebrate with our family and friends here and were able to show them some different traditions, one of our favorite decor details would have to be the flowers and our black trees. It was amazing to see our vision come together and to know that we were able to pull it off with the help of our family and friends.

Patrick: Those trees took forever to make. However, we knew that they were perfect when we saw them on the tables tying all of the decorations together. They were just creepy enough for me and just pretty enough for my beautiful bride.

What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future?
We just bought our first house, so we are looking forward to putting personal touches into it and making it our home. Maybe in a couple of years we’ll convert one of the guest bedrooms into a baby’s room.

Meg & Steven’s Wedding

We love when we get the opportunity to work at new locations, so when we found out Meg and Steven were getting married at Laurelwood, we were really excited! This beautiful couple put together a gorgeous wedding and all of the details were fabulous. We couldn’t have asked for better weather, a better location, and a wonderful couple who are so in love.

We hope you enjoy…Meg and Steven!

How did you decide on your dress?
I went to go dress shopping with my mom and two sisters and they had me try on different styles of dresses. The moment I put on my dress I knew this was the dress for me because I couldn’t stop smiling. It was classy, elegant, and just absolute beautiful to me and I loved the way I felt and looked in it. I tried on other dresses after it but I kept going back to my original first choice and said yes to the dress. From the time we walked in to Ever After I had picked out my dress in a hour.

What was the most memorable moment about your wedding day?
Our most memorable moment about our wedding was during our first look before the ceremony. Seeing each other for the first time was such an amazing feeling.

What did you enjoy most about planning your wedding?
I loved every aspect of planning our wedding. I was so lucky for my amazing family and husband who was involved  in every part of planning our wedding. If you asked him his favorite would probably be the cake and food testing. But I loved picking out my wedding dress and kept wanting to go back just to try it on again.

What are three words you would use to describe your day?
Beautiful, fun and AMAZING!!!

What was your favorite detail of the wedding?
All the little details of our wedding like my mothers wedding band on my flowers, our family cake topper, the corn hole boards and the dancing!

What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future?
We just bought a house so we are looking forward to building our life together!

Emily & Dan’s Wedding

Emily and Dan’s wedding was a lot of fun! This fabulous couple had so much energy and love for each other, that just being around them made you happy. We got to shoot at the Tennessee River Place which we’ve never been to before and it was SO beautiful. The weather was perfect, the location was stunning, plus we got to work with Foxy Events whom we just love! Every little detail was so pretty and everything came together for a wonderful wedding day.

Make sure you check out the pictures at the end…we’ve never had a groom strip off his pants and leave in a WaveRunner before!

Thanks to Emily and Dan for asking us to be a part of your day…we hope you love your images.

Emily and Dan…

How did you decide on your dress?
My mom and I went shopping at a couple of places and I kept expecting that big moment, where everyone cries and says this is it and she was very “meh” about everything I was trying on. So we went to the last place of the day and the first dress I tried on was perfect! I was obsessed with the cool pleats on the bottom and it fit perfect and my mom teared up. We were so excited and finally had the “this is it!” feeling that we’d both been waiting for.

What was the most memorable moment about your wedding day?
Walking down the aisle with my Dad was so exciting! I loved seeing all of our loved ones there to support us and Dan waiting for me at the end. It was incredibly special.

What did you enjoy most about planning your wedding?
The cake tasting and trying on dresses were my favorite parts. I also liked that Dan contributed his awesome groom’s cake and an unforgettable getaway on the WaveRunner. It was amazing to see everything come together!

What was your favorite detail of the wedding?
The lights down to the river were so stunning! And my mother-in-law made my beautiful sash, it really made the dress look all the more amazing.

What are three words you would use to describe your day?
Beautiful. Delicious and Dance-tastic. I made that last one up, but it’s true.

What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future?
We are looking forward to lots of travel and adventures together!

Hope & Stephen’s Wedding

Hope and Stephen’s wedding day was such a special day. This couple are wonderful friends…who can’t stop looking at each other! They are simply a joy to be around. Hope was a stunning bride, the wedding was beautiful and the reception was so much fun! We started off at the beautiful Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church for the ceremony then headed over to Lookout Mountain Golf Club for the reception.

We loved being a part of this wedding and this couple who are so deeply in love.

We hope you enjoy…Hope and Stephen.

What did you enjoy most about planning your wedding?
The aspect about planning that I enjoyed most would probably be planning the ceremony. Stephen and I wanted to make sure that God was glorified through our union as husband and wife. I also loved making a schedule and checking off items as I went through them. After doing events for my college, I had already had experience working with venues and caterers, but this was a whole new ball game! I think it was weird for me to make all the shots. Before I would just execute, now I had to plan the whole event, from the flowers to the lighting…to everything! It was so fun, and I wouldn’t have traded that responsibility for anything.

What was the most memorable moment about your wedding day?
I think the most memorable moment of my wedding day, was seeing Stephen for the first time in my gown. The look on his face said it all. He was so happy, and seeing him made me feel at ease. It was a great start to the best day of my life! Oh and I definitely remember when he smashed the cake in my face. What a stinker. !!

How did you decide on your dress?
Well it’s not your typical story! I had been shopping all day with my mom and sisters, and we finally made it to Monica’s. It was about an hour before closing and I grabbed a few dresses to try on not knowing that my dress was in the store. I tried on about 6 dresses, and then I tried on mine and knew that it was the one. The store was closing and I had to make a decision, so I screamed, “Yes! It’s the one!” It was the very last dress that I tried on that day, and some might say that I made an ‘impulse’ buy, but I knew that the dress was for me! I even was able to customize it, which made it even more my own. I loved the way it made me feel, and I loved wearing it on my wedding day! It actually turned out to be extremely comfortable!

What was your favorite detail of the wedding?
My favorite detail of the wedding was probably the flowers. I loved what our florist did. She was amazing to work with, and she is extremely gifted. She did exactly what I envisioned. I also enjoyed seeing all the bridesmaids in their dresses. That was an exciting moment for me!

What are three words you would use to describe your day?
Elegant, Beautiful, and absolutely PERFECT.

What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future?
As we have recently moved into our house, and started to make arrangements for our new jobs, I can’t help but think how blessed I am by Stephen. I couldn’t imagine a better person to spent forever with…so as far as future goes, we plan on getting settled into our jobs and our new home, and who knows, in a few years we might start having kids. All I know is that I am so glad that I get to do all of this with my best friend, Stephen.