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

Holly & Tyler’s Wedding

Holly and Tyler were fabulous to work with! We met with them shortly before the wedding and I was so impressed by how organized Holly was and hearing her vision for everything, even photography. They are a fun couple and being around them the day of the wedding was a blast.

I loved the weather on the day of the wedding, it was not as hot as it had been and the day was just beautiful. We started out at the Holly Avenue United Methodist Church and then off to a farm for an amazing reception! I loved the fall details that were everywhere and how everything came together. It was definitely a favorite for us!

Congratulations to Holly and Tyler…we hope you love your pictures…we loved your wedding!

What did you enjoy most about planning your wedding?
Tyler was actually very involved in the process, and put in his opinion on everything from the venue, the colors, photography, tuxes, and the cake. I really wanted his input, and a lot of times the groom-to-be leaves it all up to the bride. I also went to several bridal shows with my mom, which was a lot of fun.

How did you decide on your dress?
I had cut out pictures of the dresses I wanted to try on before I went to the shop. I gave those cut-outs to the bridal consultant at the shop, and the picture that had actually been my favorite turned out to be my favorite dress on me. I only went one place, one day. I found the dress that first day. We decided to wait until closer to the wedding to purchase it. A couple of months later I went to their website to show my mother-in-law the dress I had chosen and couldn’t find it on the website anymore, so I stopped in the store very soon after that for a quick 5-minute stop just to make sure they still had it. The store only had one more of that dress, and it was in MY size, and they weren’t making anymore. I bought it that day! It was really a God thing. So glad I stopped in to ask!

What are three words you would use to describe your day?
Relaxed, Southern, Crisp

What was your favorite detail of the wedding?
That’s a tough one. Do I say the cakes or the food or the dresses/tuxes or the firetruck? I really don’t have one favorite detail.

What was the most memorable moment about your wedding day?
At the very end of the reception, right before Tyler & I left, our DJ played the last slow song of the night. When we danced together during that song, it was the most intimate time together of the entire day. I had my head buried in his chest, and I had his jacket on, which was huge on me. Not many of the wedding guests were watching this dance because it was late- most had either left already or were at the bar area! I felt like in that moment it was just us.

What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future?
Tyler is heading off to the police academy in just a couple of weeks, which is very exciting for us. We have already started to plan our one year anniversary trip to Las Vegas! We are also considering going to Mardi Gras 2013 and Yellowstone in the next 2 years. There is a lot to look forward to!

Lesli & Blake’s Wedding

Lesli and Blake’s wedding was so special for us. We met Lesli through one of our previous brides and just from talking with her we knew the wedding would be beautiful. They had the wedding at Windswept in Morristown, TN. The location was amazing, with a gorgeous view of the valley and lake. Lesli’s sense of style and decor was fabulous and all of the little details were so unique!

Lesli and Blake are a wondering couple – we loved being around them and capturing this beautiful day. We loved how everything turned out…we hope you love them too.

Congratulations to Lesli and Blake!

What did you enjoy most about planning your wedding?
I love planning, so I had a great time planning our wedding from start to finish. From picking out invitations and cupcake flavors to deciding on flowers, it was amazing to see the vision in my head come to life.

How did you decide on your dress?
I always wanted a classic dress with little sleeves, and love the look of antique lace.  I went shopping with one of my bridesmaids, Heather, who helped me plan everything and knew the look I was going for.  I only went to one store, Hayden Olivia, and it was such a great experience. When I tried my dress on, I knew it was perfect.

What are three words you would use to describe your day?
Fun, Lovely, Delicious

What was the most memorable moment about your wedding day?
For me the most memorable moment was when I was walking down the aisle and saw all our friends and family that had come together that day just for us, with my future husband standing there waiting for me. I am not normally a crier, but that moment overwhelmed me.

What was your favorite detail of the wedding?
I had so many favorite details of the wedding! Seeing my bridesmaids in the dresses they all picked out themselves, looking so beautiful. The adorable umbrellas the flower girls carried down the aisle. The bouquets that were more beautiful than I had imagined they could be. The delicious cupcakes! Not to mention the scenery – we had a perfect location.

What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future?
We are looking forward to spending more time with friends and family, traveling, and settling into our new house with our dogs!

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!