Posts Tagged ‘little rock wedding photography’

Ashley and Jim were married at the First Presbyterian in Conway on July 17th followed by a rocked out reception at Conway Country Club!   All the beautiful florals and decor were created by  Events Rental and Floral in Conway.  Their cake was designed by Oneta Williams in Heber Springs.  And the band that rocked everything out was The Fabulous Steelers of Memphis, I’m pretty sure if you are contemplating hiring a live band these guys are it no questions!  Their reception was seriously like a concert (it was amazing)!!!!!!!  Ashley and Jim got to relax on a 7-night stay at The Excellence Resort in Playa Mujeres, Mexico!!!  :)

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Congratulations Ashley and Jim!  We are so grateful for the opportunity we had to work with you and your families!  It was a pleasure to get to know you two!  Best wishes!

Enjoy!

-erika

Hey, Donnally here! I’m a new intern for Erika Dotson Photography, find out more about me here.

Meet Elizabeth and Andrew, a ridiculously cute couple! Erika threw me a camera, and I started snapping pictures… a great way to learn the ropes! Erika gave me a ideas for themes, I chose a first date theme for the couple because I thought it would be perfect for them. It was a fun shoot, complete with cupcakes from Bliss Cupcake Cafe, balloons, and lots of laughter. We shot the mini-session with them in downtown Fayetteville. Elizabeth and Andrew, recently engaged, were great to work with!

NW Arkansas Engagement Photography

Bliss was a cute place to begin the shoot, owner Shelley Cassar, was happy to have Bliss as the set for the first date theme.

NW Arkansas Engagement Photography

To set up the first date theme, Elizabeth and Andrew picked out their cupcakes.  Their taste of choice was chocolate milkshake and carrot cake. Yum!!!

NW Arkansas Engagement Photography

*Erika here –  It was such a treat to be able to teach Donnally what I knew about photography this day.  I’m super excited to have her on board as an intern here!  Can’t wait for what is to come!  Be sure to check out her about page.

NW Arkansas Engagement Photography

Yes, old fashion Coca-Cola was a must for the shoot!

NW Arkansas Engagement Photography

I’ve got nothing for you… but meet the cupcakes.

NW Arkansas Engagement Photography

Andrew kept blowing bubbles in the Coca-Cola, making Elizabeth all smiles.

NW Arkansas Engagement Photography

*We thought it may be a bit awkward if Donnally wrote about herself, so here I am again.  I loved how she just jumped onto this table to shoot!  She’s learning already one of the most important factors on a shoot…..not worrying about your surroundings and how silly you look propped up on the table!  I love it!  :)

NW Arkansas Engagement Photography

Gorgeous lighting.

NW Arkansas Engagement Photography

I love the way Andrew looks at her.  So sweet.

NW Arkansas Engagement Photography

And forehead kisses… bonus!!!

NW Arkansas Engagement Photographer

This picture sums up the couple.  Perfect.

Enjoy!

-Donnally

Tanja and David, where in the world do I start?  Well right here in my backyard in fact!  Tanja has been out to my house many times and knew this was the area she wanted to have her engagements done.  David is such a sport and does pretty much whatever Tanja musters around in her head!  I love it!  David adores her and I think it’s beautiful.  I was actually there the day that he proposed to her hiding behind a rock ledge trying to capture some photos of the whole thing!

Tanja wanted a vintage style to her engagements and I just love these travel inspired ones we started out with!  It was a BIG deal to keep track of David’s passport (as he’s visiting from England)!!!!

Arkansas Engagement Portraits Tanja and David 1

I have wanted to photograph someone on this bridge for a very long time!  I’m so glad that Tanja was able to see the same thing I did as she drove over it for the first time to my house!!!

Arkansas Engagement Portraits Tanja and David 3

Arkansas Engagement Portraits Tanja and David 4

We then headed to another place that I’ve been dying to shoot at!!!  Every weekend when we go to visit TW’s parents we pass this vineyard and I always put in a mental note: I’ve got to take someone out here!!!!  Now I can put that note aside thanks to Tanja!  She’s so stinkin beautiful……doesn’t she just look famous with that beautiful hair?!?!?!!?

Arkansas Engagement Portraits Tanja and David 2

This next set has a bit of a funny background story to it.  We first tried to set up our picnic in the middle of the dirt road.  But between getting the blanket down, the typewriter, the soda, and not to mention the couple a car would come then we’d do it all over again and another car would come!!!  We got a bit frustrated but headed to a beautiful field instead.  But the story doesn’t stop there, while we were taking these Tanja noticed some cows getting closer and closer…….well apparently we were in the middle of two fields of cows that were headed towards one another as if they were going to battle!  Needless to say we got our stuff quickly and hopped over on the other side of the fence into the “safe” zone!!!  :)  Then afterwards they followed us to the gate and we tried to touch them.  I didn’t realize they hadn’t ever seen a cow that close before!  If I would have known that I would have stuck them out in our field and let our little cow come say hi!!!

Arkansas Engagement Portraits Tanja and David 6

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Tanja and David I can’t wait to fly out to Europe next summer for your wedding day!!!  You two are such a beautiful couple!  It’s been such a blast being able to work alongside you two and see you grow!

Much Love

-erika

Claire and Aaron were wed in Jamaica but also chose to have a service here in Arkansas as well for those who couldn’t attend their Jamaican wedding but also decided to do so out of tradition!  Apparently there has been a long standing tradition in Aaron’s family about getting married in the bay window at their parents historical home and having your marriage last, I think I’d get hitched in the bay window too if I were them!  They had such a beautiful ceremony and reception here in Fayetteville, I was so glad that I was able to attend this one after working so closely with this couple!

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Caterer: Whole Hog

Party Rentals: Eventures

Cake: Shelby Lynn’s

Florals: J Renee Floral Design

Hair: Sarah Faye Burnett at Black Sheep Salon

Photography: Erika Dotson Photography

Enjoy!

-erika

Today is going to be my day!  Well technically I’ll have to share with Baby Dotson and my husband too but we’re having maternity pictures taken today!  I’m pretty excited!  Do you remember Ruthie?  She won a free mini session well low and behold she’s a rising star in the photography world around here and she has asked if we wanted to do some maternity photos with her!  Thanks so much Ruthie!  So that’s what we’re up to today.

I did want to post a few teasers of things I’ve been working on recently though!   Everything from Conway weddings to Huntsville Seniors.

Europe Wedding Photographer

Meet Tanja and David (you should already be familiar with Tanja she’s a retired associate photographer here at Erika Dotson Photography).  I’m so excited about their upcoming wedding……you know why?  Well she’s retired because she moved to England to be with David so that means I’ll be going to England next summer!  You’d be excited too!  We’re working on their engagement session…..lot’s of yummy pictures to come!

Huntsville Senior Portraits

Meet Ally.  She’s going to be a Senior this year at Huntsville High School.  Sorry boys she’s taken!  Ally is my brother in law’s girlfriend and she’s such a sweetheart!

Arkansas Senior Portrait Photographer

So now we’ve gotta meet Andy (my brother in law) yes girls he’s taken by the sweet gal above, so sorry!  :)  He’s also a Huntsville High Senior this year!  I’m so excited for him!  I’ll save all my sappiness for when I make his post later! But for now Congrats and we’re cheering you on this year!

Missouri Wedding Photographer

Next up is Sarah and Ryan O’Callaghan!  They were married in Springfield, Missouri a few weeks back.  Sarah and I attended U of A together in the Dietetics program a few years ago.  Ryan is an LSU Tiger so they’ve got some work cut out for them, in fact if I remember right the Tigers and the Razorbacks were playing each other while we were in the middle of our engagement session and we stopped off Dickson St to change and Ryan peered through the window of a bar to keep updated on the score!  They are such an adorable couple and I was so excited when Sarah called an announced her engagement!  Stay tuned we’ve got some exciting images coming!

Conway Wedding Photography

And finally Ashley and Jim!  They had the best wedding party I’ve been too in a long time!  I’m not even kidding you their band came from Memphis and ROCKED THE HOUSE!!!!  If anyone is looking for an AMAZING live band you have got to check out The Fabulous Steeler Band!  I’m excited about posting all the beautiful details of their wedding!!!

Now I’m off to go enjoy my day and get ready for my time to shine!  ha ha

Enjoy!

-erika

Ashton and Adam were married in Mena, which is where I graduated high school!  It was nice to drive back down there and visit again!  Their wedding was held at the Herod home.  They had so many lovely wedding day helpers!  I could tell these two families were very welcoming and just amazing!  It’s always good to feel accepted and taken care of at a wedding!  :)  Thanks guys!  You two are beautiful and I know the Big Man upstairs has a lot in store for you!  Congratulations on your new life together!

Let’s start with all the BEAUTIFUL details!

Mena Arkansas Wedding Photography

The flowers were created by a local florist that is just starting out in the area her name is Lauren Frost.  She’s super stylish and adorable!  If you are planning a wedding and would like her info please contact me.

Arkansas Wedding Photographer

For some reason I love this photo!  Guys just have no idea how much work it can take to get that beautiful gown on do they?

Arkansas Wedding Photography

Isn’t she a beauty?

Arkansas Wedding Photographer

This image along with the next few pretty much sum up a “First Look”.  I just LOVE LOVE LOVE when my clients decide to do a First Look!  You still get ready as usual without seeing each other beforehand.  We set up in a pretty location with good lighting before the ceremony begins.  A First Look allows you to relax and send a little time with your future spouse before the ceremony, you can talk, touch, kiss, laugh, hold, hug, etc. all of which are things you usually aren’t doing at the altar.  It also allows for more time for creative portraits as well as getting all those family portraits out of the way so you can move right on to the reception without leaving your guests waiting!

Mena Wedding Photography

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She’s so happy and relieved to be able to see her groom before the ceremony!

Arkansas Wedding Photography

And then you get yummy pictures like this!!!!!  LOVE!

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Meet Mr. and Mrs. Herod!  :)  Ashton that has a nice ring to it!

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Don’t they look so happy together!?!?!

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Arkansas Weddings

I just love these purple bridesmaid dresses!

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What a gorgeous dress!

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Ashton’s smile as she sees her groom……

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Along with Adam’s smile!  :)

Arkansas Wedding Photography

Love this shot I was able to capture!  Some dad love!

Erika Dotson Photography

What a beautiful day and location for a wedding day!

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These two little girls were adorable!

Erika Dotson Photography

They look a weee bit happy to finally be married…..  :)

Now on to the reception……..just a few more detail shots for ya!

Arkansas Weddings

Mena Wedding Photos

I’m telling you this Lauren Frost girl did an amazing job on the florals!

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Mena Wedding Photographer

What a beautiful wedding cake too!

Mena Wedding Photography

Razorback Weddings

Some more cake cutting…………..

Mena Weddings

The whole crowd called the Hogs while they cut their cake!  Too cute!

Mena AR Wedding Photography

Awww and a cute Hog kiss to seal the deal!

Mena Weddings

Perfect toss Ashton!

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And yes Adam you did well too!

Mena Ar Photographer

What a beautiful happy couple!

Congratulations you two!

Enjoy!

-erika

Hey there everyone!  I know I’ve disappeared off the face of the earth for a bit but I’m coming back in full swing!  Alyssa and Seth were the winners of our contest we held nearly a year ago at the Democrat Gazette Bridal Fair in Rogers.  If you remember there was a whole lot of people following what was going on.  I had the participants submit a letter explaining them as a couple.  Then we selected a few participants to take a picture with their fiance and incorporate Erika Dotson Photography into the photo somehow.  It came down to two girls and I had the opportunity to meet with them and I chose Alyssa and Seth as the winners of the Free Wedding Photography package.  I am certain that was the right choice as well!  Alyssa and Seth were perfect and glowing on their wedding day.  Their special day was something out of the ordinary as well which was another reason I chose to volunteer my time and talents in their behalf.  Alyssa and Seth both lost their father’s in a relatively close time period and decided that there was no other day that would honor them as much as Father’s Day.  These two set themselves aside to commemorate their amazing father’s.  I hope through these images you can see that same selfless beauty that I saw the moment I met Alyssa and Seth.

Let’s start with some getting ready shots……

NW Arkansas Weddings

I just love her cute little shoes!  She even had her brother (the lucky guy that walked her down the aisle) put a penny in her shoe just before the ceremony started!

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Her dress was stunning!  The entire gown was made of lace!  Gorgeous!

(Just a little tip to all my brides out there……remember a cute hanger for your dress shot!)

Arkansas Wedding Photography

I loved the color of these bridesmaid dresses!  I think green was a pretty popular color this year!

Arkansas Wedding Photography

This is one of my favorite images of the day!  Seems silly I know, but just take a minute to look into the photo.  This image tells a story.  You’ve got the bride making last minute preparations before her finally gets her dress on, while mom and maid of honor are carefully getting her dress ready for it’s big debut.  This is a beautiful photograph!!!!

Arkansas Wedding Photography

This is just too cute!

Arkansas Wedding Photography

This image is so timeless to me!

Erika Dotson Photography

A little attention for Seth as well…..lookin sharp.

Erika Dotson Photography

A little brotherly love….

Erika Dotson Photography

To be followed by sisterly love!  I’ve got some more lovely lit photos for you!

Erika Dotson Photography

First let’s finally met the lovely couple……Alyssa and Seth Pitts…..Congratulations!

Erika Dotson Photography

LOVE.

Erika Dotson Photography

What a stunning bride!

Erika Dotson Photography

Gorgeous couple + gorgeous light = wedding perfection!

Erika Dotson Photography

Their wedding was held at the beautiful Pratt Place Inn.

Fayetteville Wedding Photography

NW Arkansas Wedding Photography

Anticipation.

Pratt Place Barn Wedding Photography

What a gorgeous ceremony inside the barn.

Pratt Place Barn Wedding Photography

They seem a little excited!

Let’s move on to some detail shots!!!!!!…………….

Fayetteville Wedding Photography

Alyssa chose to use a local florist from Prairie Grove.  Their flowers turned out beautifully.

Fayetteville Wedding Photography

At their reception Alyssa and Seth set up this beautiful little table to make Father’s Day cards.  It was such an original and cute idea!  Pictured above is Seth’s father on the left and Alyssa’s father on the right.

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I started thinking which led to this idea!  I just love when my wedding clients add personal touches to their wedding because it allows me to capture meaningful memories for them to truly bring out their character in their photos!

Arkansas Wedding Photographer

As soon as I saw those stamps I knew what my ring shot was going to be for the day!  I think it’s perfect!

Fayetteville Wedding Photography

What an amazing wedding cake!  Love it!  It was quite tasty too!  Thanks guys!

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They had these cute little tins with candy surrounding the cake.  Too sweet!

Arkansas Wedding Photographer

These are just too cute!  I loved all the little details that Alyssa and Seth incorporated!

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We can’t leave out the groom’s cake!  I’m pretty sure Seth is a pretty big razorback fan!  (He should be excited to know that Baby Dotson’s room will be Razorback themed then!!!)

Arkansas Wedding Photographer

Alyssa seems to be a pretty hardcore fan herself!

Arkansas Photographer

Alyssa was all grins as they shared their first dance together!

Arkansas Photographers

The Best Man whipped out his speech from his phone……I just love how technology is changing the wedding scene too!  He gave a great tear jerking speech!  Way to go!

Arkansas Wedding Photographer

I love how Alyssa’s looking back at all her single friends.

Fayetteville Wedding Photographer

And Seth with all his single friends!  I just love this shot!

Fayetteville Photographer

Seth’s facial expression here is just great!

Fayetteville Wedding Photographer

They had a live band that really rocked out their reception!

Arkansas Weddings

I love how much fun they are having together!

Fayetteville Weddings

Looks like this guy surprised everyone with his awesome dance moves!

Fayetteville AR Wedding Photographer

What a fun grand exit!

It was wonderful to work with you two!  I hope you have many happy years together!

Enjoy!

-erika

Sally and Cole were married recently in Mountain Home and I had the honor of capturing their special day!  Sally was absolutely gorgeous and of course Cole was looking pretty handsome himself!

First we’ll start with all the pretty details!

NWA Wedding Photography

Sally had a cute little cabin for her and all her girls to get ready in just beside the ceremony location.

NWA Wedding Photography

By the looks of it they loved the guestbook!  :)

NWA Wedding Photography

They were married at Gaston’s White River Resort and had a BEAUTIFUL location for their ceremony just off the river bank!

NWA Wedding Photography

Tanja captured this great shot of Sally and her Father waiting to walk her down the aisle.

NWA Wedding Photography

And shortly after I was able to capture this one.

NWA Wedding Photography

This little guy was so worried about walking down the aisle, good thing he had his big sister to hang on to!!!  He did a great job!!!

NWA Wedding Photography

Cole called me earlier that day and let me in on his secret!  I was so excited to know he had something so special up his sleeve!  It was a big surprise to everyone (well except us photographers!) and there was so much emotion in the air!  It was major bonus points in Cole’s favor!!!

NWA Wedding Photography

NWA Wedding Photography

I think this is my favorite image from the whole day!  I told you there was a lot of emotions!  This picture captures all of them!  Way to go Tanja!

NWA Wedding Photography

Now for some pretty couple pictures!

NWA Wedding Photography

Images like this are a result of choosing to do a “First Look”!!!!  So personal and intimate!!!  Once again, I just love the emotion in this image!!!!  :)  If I’m not mistaken this is a Tanja shot too!

NWA Wedding Photography

NWA Wedding Photography

Meet Mr. and Mrs. Ezell!!!

NWA Wedding Photography

NWA Wedding Photography

A nice kissing shot after the cake cutting!  I love when my couples do this and I get to catch it on film (well digital film that is!)

NWA Wedding Photography

NWA Wedding Photography

I love how Sally is looking back to see who’s going to catch it!  And you can bet that little girl did everything she could to be the winner!

NWA Wedding Photography

What a great way to end the evening!

NWA Wedding Photography

Enjoy!

-erika

(PS for those of you wondering I will have Sally and Cole’s wedding galleries up on the website tomorrow well technically later today since it is 2am!)

Sally and Cole were married on May 22nd so I feel like it’s a good time to get some bridals up of the beautiful Sally!  We took these bridals a few weeks before her wedding day and I just couldn’t wait to share them with all of you, but obviously I had too since no one had seen her in her dress yet and we definitely wouldn’t want to risk the chance of the groom to see them either!!!  We started shooting in a field of yellow flowers then headed down to Lake Fayetteville to capture some stunning shots there as well!  Sally is such a beautiful lady!  She recently graduated from grad school(GO SALLY!) and planned a wedding the following weekend…..brave girl!  Oh and I’m pretty sure she’s already secured a job as well and started today!  CONGRATS!

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Keep posted for their wedding images soon!

Enjoy!

-erika

A day in the life…

March 25, 2010

This basically is what I do on a daily basis….. edit edit edit and some more editing!  And guess what…..I wouldn’t trade my job for a million bucks!

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Enjoy!

erika

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