Dotson Studios

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!

Stephanie & Joey’s Wedding

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Stephanie and Joey’s wedding was quite simply…fabulous! We had the wonderful opportunity of working with Ruffles & Rouge from the Knoxville area as well as my friend Erin from Be True Designs. Every single detail was thought out and just beautiful. It was full of the personality of Stephanie and Joey, and the day brought so many smiles and even tears to my eyes.

It was an amazing day, with an amazing couple who are so in love and so perfect for each other…it made our jobs easy. This spectacular wedding was held at St. John Neumann Catholic Church with a reception at The Fox Den Country Club.

A HUGE congratulations to Stephanie and Joey. Thank you so much for asking us to be a part of your day…we hope you love you images as much as we loved working with you.

Stephanie and Joey…

What did you enjoy most about planning your wedding?
We enjoyed working together, analyzing every detail, and realizing this one huge event was just about the two of us spending the rest of our lives together.

What was your favorite detail of the wedding?
Joey and I decided to have a “first look” prior to the wedding so that we could take as many pictures as possible before the ceremony. Grant and Sara chose the perfect setting, and we absolutely loved that moment when we saw each other for the first time.

How did you decide on your dress?
The dress I chose happened to be the fourth dress I tried on, which is my favorite number. I knew I wanted something close to that style, and I absolutely loved the dress as soon as I put it on at Bridals by Lori. My mom, Joey’s mom, my sister, and my grandmother were there for me on my big day, making it even more special.

What are three words you would use to describe your day?
Beautiful, Anxious, Perfect

What was the most memorable moment about your wedding day?
Erick Baker, our favorite music artist, played at our reception and performed our first song. We both will never forget that moment.

What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future?
Two days after we returned from our honeymoon, we packed up our lives and moved to Dallas, Texas. Now that we are living in a new state in our new apartment, we are looking forward to experiencing new things and enjoying our life together. For now, we are most looking forward to relaxing after the past few months of craziness!

Posted in Weddings

by Sara Dotson

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Lacie & Chris’ Engagement

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

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!

Posted in Engagements

by Sara Dotson

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Happy McFamily of Four

Thursday, October 13, 2011

We had the very special privilege of photographing this special family of four recently and are excited to share those images. Because of some privacy issues we are not using their real name. A year ago though they adopted their sweet little boy and were excited to come up on his birthday as well as the anniversary of the adoption.

I’ve known this family for a number of years now, and have seen it grow, and I just have to say how beautiful and special this family is.

We hope you enjoy their images…we sure enjoyed being able to photograph them!

Posted in Family, Little Ones

by Sara Dotson

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Kacy & Ryan’s Wedding

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Kacy and Ryan’s wedding was so much fun! This couple have a fantastic energy about them, they had a fun bridal party, and everything about this wedding was beautiful and reflected the couple. We started off at Second Presbyterian Church for the ceremony then headed over to Easy Bistro for the fabulous reception.

We loved being a part of this wedding, thanks Kacy and Ryan for asking us to be your photographers.

We hope you all enjoy, Kacy and Ryan.

What did you enjoy most about planning your wedding?
Being the planner in the relationship, I took on most of the responsibility of planning the wedding. However, Ryan was involved in the big decisions and his favorite part was the food tasting for our reception! I would have to say my favorite part was getting to spend time with my mom! Since we don’t live in the same state we don’t see each other as much as we would like but during the wedding planning process we spent many weekends together!

How did you decide on your dress?
After attending several bridal shows with my mom and mother-in-law, we narrowed down which bridal shops we wanted to visit. Blocking off an entire Saturday, the three of us set out with a camera, no expectations, and open minds. Trying on many different styles we left the first shop with a unanimous favorite. Later that afternoon we headed to the second shop where again I tried on very different styles from even the first shop. It came down to the last dress hanging in the dressing room for me to try on and immediately I knew it was the one! My mom and mother-in-law were so cute because they didn’t say much the entire day, not wanting to sway my opinion, and once I expressed that I liked that dress they broke out into excitement. It was a fun day and I was lucky to have both of them with me!

What was the most memorable moment about your wedding day?
Hands down both Ryan and I agree the most memorable part of the wedding was our vows. There are so many emotions wrapped in that moment which all go back to our love and commitment to one another.

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

What was your favorite detail of the wedding?
The invitations! A friend of ours worked very hard to design something unique but still compliment our personalities. They turned out beautiful!

What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future?
As a couple we will continue to grow and strengthen our relationship and look forward to house hunting and traveling together!