Dotson Studios » Modern Photography & Design in Chattanooga

It’s been a unique year for us, having the opportunity to photograph a number of friends and family’s weddings. Sarah & Chris are part of this group, and having the privilege to capture their wedding and their love, is simply an honor. We are so completely happy for our friend and her new husband. The connection they have is obvious, and their happiness and contentment in their life shows on every expression.

I LOVE these pictures, more than anything because my friend is so happy in them.

Congratulations Sarah and Chris! Your wedding was so beautiful and special…thank you SO MUCH for asking us to be a part of this.

Sarah & Chris…

What was your favorite detail of the wedding?
Chris: Watching Sarah walk down the aisle.

Sarah: Walking in the chapel where Chris was waiting for me :)

How did you decide on your dress?
Sarah: Mom and and I had so much fun!!! We met in Knoxville at the perfect Boutique…we didn’t really know what we were doing and we picked out quite a few, but when we got to my dress, we both just knew it was right!!! I was so happy that we both loved it so much.

What was the most memorable moment about your wedding day?
Chris: Saying I do

Sarah: Standing next to the man I love and looking out in the church at all of our family and friends surrounding us.

What did you enjoy most about planning your wedding?
Chris: Watching, listening and saying yes ma’am to Sarah!  She did a great job!

Sarah: I enjoyed all of it!!!! But my favorite was planning with my mom and my friends – I feel so loved and it was such fun planning with such special people!!!!

What are three words you would use to describe your day?
Chris: Fantastic, Grand, BEST

Sarah: Happy, Perfect, Sweet

What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future?
Being together, up until we were married we lived 1.5 hours apart, it will be nice to explore that constant presence of a best friend and try living in the same city:)

It’s always wonderful to go to a family member’s wedding…but I have to say it was even more wonderful to be able to photograph it. My beautiful cousin Candace and her man Carroll tied the knot at the Memorial Baptist Church in Verona, Wisconsin. It was full of personality, beauty, and fun…with nothing but smiles all day long.

I’m so very happy for Candace, and excited that Carroll is now a part of the family. Congratulations guys…everything was so beautiful! Thank you for asking us to be a part of your day.

We hope you enjoy…Candace and Carroll….

What did you enjoy most about planning your wedding?
Actually, the best part about planning the wedding was when we started decorating the church and auditorium. It was fun to see all of our ideas come to life. To be honest, all of the planning until that point was pretty stressful, haha. But as soon as I had all my bridesmaids come in, it was all fun from there. My Maid of Honor, was from my hometown in Wisconsin while my other three bridesmaids were from New York, Minnesota, and California.

How did you decide on your dress?
My dress took me one day to find.  I went to a couple of stores that morning with my family and I went to my last store where the attendant was the best.  She would pull out dresses that she thought I would like and listen to my opinions about each dress I tried on.  I finally put on my dress and all of my family went quiet.  I wasn’t really sold on the dress, but I was happy with my family’s reaction. They dolled me up with a veil and some flowers and I realized it was just a dress and the person in the dress is really what the day is about.  I wanted something that took my family and friends breath away and it did.  I looked at everyone and said “Yup, this is the one I want. I’m buying it!”  My family was pretty shocked how I came to my answer and didn’t really hesitate.  The best part, is God reassured me this was the dress He wanted for me.  When I went to pay for my dress, somehow the dress tag was switched with an another dress that they didn’t even have in the store.  The price of the dress was more then what the dress tag said and the store honored the price on the tag.  I knew that this was the right dress.

What was the most memorable moment about your wedding day?
Well I would have to say that the most memorable moment of our wedding was when Carroll sang to me during the ceremony. He sang “Love Never Fails” by Brandon Heath. His brother, Andrew, played the guitar for him. Every one was crying by the end of the song.

What are three words you would use to describe your day?
Candace: Way too fast!  Every time I look at pictures I think about how I wish we could go back and do it again. It really was so fleeting.

Carroll: Fun, Colorful, Romantic (Candace likes that too, haha.)

What was your favorite detail of the wedding?
We hung orange and pink pom poms from the ceiling and we had to fluff all of them. I found out that my bridesmaids would make good cheerleaders. :)

What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future?
Carroll: Babies!

Candace: No. . .no babies, haha. I’m trying to finish up school so that we can move forward with our lives. Other than that, the future is a little bit murky. However, I know that I can follow my husband and everything will be just fine. :)

Carroll: Ok, I was just kidding with the babies. Sort of. ;) Candace is going to finish schooling in about a year. After that, we are planning on getting out of Pensacola, Florida where we currently reside. When Candace finishes with school, I am going to start mine back up. What happens after that? Who knows. But thats the best way to live. :)

Lisa and Jay had a really special wedding. They were lucky enough to be able to have it at Jay’s parents’ house on Lookout Mountain and the grounds they had were spectacular! It was evident that a lot of work and preparation went into this wedding and it made for a gorgeous day, full of the couple’s personality and style.

We started off at Elea Blake for Lisa’s makeup, went to hair-a-go-go for her hair and then spent the rest of the day at Jay’s parent’s home. We LOVED getting to work with Soirees who, as always, had every detail attended to. It was truely a beautiful day that we were proud to be a part of.

Lisa and Jay, thank you so much for asking us to be a part of your union, you have something so special!

Enjoy…Lisa and Jay.

Such a beautiful dress!!

I love all of the details at this wedding.

Jay’s parents’ house had so many beautiful locations!

The reception was spectacular!

Congratulations guys! Thanks for asking us to be a part of your day!

We love when we get the opportunity to photograph something different, so when Traci contacted us about her wedding at Grandview for only her and her groom, we loved it! There is something really beautiful about the simplicity of a wedding like this, and the focus is on nothing but their love and their union.

It was a beautiful day, a beautiful bride, and nothing but love.

We hope you enjoy…Traci & Randy.

What was your favorite detail of the wedding?
Our absolute favorite part about our wedding was the pure simplicity of it. We both wanted to make sure our wedding stayed about the two of us and that it was not over shadowed by “things”. It was special because it was about our love and commitment. It was such a beautiful day outside with just nature surrounding us. It truly was the perfect day!

Describe the proposal
Well, I think he knew I was expecting it soon so he tried his best to ask when I least expected it.
He asked if I would get some wine glasses down from the cabinet and when I did the most beautiful ring was inside the glass. After he asked…and of course..I said YES, he told me he had forgotten the wine!

Describe your ring
It is the prettiest ring I think I have ever seen! I think I must look at it a million times a day.
The engagement ring has a diamond split shank band with a round halo setting and a 1.25k round diamond in the center.
The wedding band is a very thin band of diamonds that compliments it very well.

How did you decide on your dress?
I must have tried on at least thirty dresses at different places. I could not describe exactly what I was looking for, I just knew that I would know if I put it on. I wanted something simple but pretty, not with excessive fabric or bead work.
My mother and sister were at the bridal store when I had already chosen one to buy when I decided to try this one last one….we all agreed it was the one!

What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day?
The most memorable thing about the wedding for me was the moment I saw Traci.  She was absolutely breath-taking, the most beautiful sight I have ever seen in my life.  As you can tell from the photos, I could not take my eyes off of her.  I’m having trouble keeping my eyes off her as I write this.

What’s next for you as a couple?  What are you looking forward to in the future?
Our next big thing is Traci going to nursing school.  It has been a dream of hers for a while now and I’m really excited for her to accomplish this.
We are looking forward to buying or building a house together soon, and just spending as much time together as possible.