Here’s some of the things we’ve been working on!

Yep you should recognize that gal in the red scarf…Donnally…..and her gorgeous family!  Had the pleasure to visit my hometown for a few hours as I drove down to Mena for their family portrait session!  They have such a beautiful home with lovely surroundings, what a treat it was to shoot there!

This is Craig, we went out for part two of his senior portraits to Lake Fayetteville.  I love that spot!  He’s a Springdale Senior, in case you missed it the first time around!  Congratulations….again!  :)

Here’s Mr. Jack with his mommy and daddy.   I traded out some babysitting time with this family!  What a great plan and we’re both happy with what we got!  :)  Dusty and Stephanie have been my hubby’s friends for years so I adopted them too…..I’ll admit they are good company!  :)  Thanks guys!

Then the Crees siblings!  This is Sam.  We know each other from high school.  Sam and his sisters wanted to give their parents a meaningful gift this year so they booked us for a sibling session!   I love that their parents have no idea!  What a GREAT gift idea!!!

Well that’s what we’ve been working on!  :)

Enjoy!

-erika

I posted a few of my favorites and a slideshow at the bottom with more!!!

I just love this image and the lighting is great!

Hi Amanda and Cade……CONGRATS!

I like this one a lot too…..look how happy Amanda is!  :)

Ummm of course the super talented fisherman caught a fish during our session…..barely!  ;)

This is fun!  See her arrows are pink!

She’s gorgeous huh?

Enjoy!

-erika

Saturday Steal…..Again from Martha because she’s that awesome!

This is super cute!  Why just have the “Just Married” sign on the back of your car and why not post one at your reception?  Download the template here….

I love this advice about the ties!!!  Read more.

Find out how to make this frame!!!  So cute! Read More.

Ring Bearer book………I think YES!!!  Read More.

You know we could totally create these for you!  Let me know if you are interested before we start your engagement shoot and we can work this into the design!!! Read more.

This would be a post my mom would be proud of (she’s an environmental engineer)…..BIODEGRADABLE CONFETTI!!!!  Awesome!  No mess to clean up! Read More.

If there’s anything you’d like to see featured please let us know!  We write these things for you guys anyways!  :)  I’d love to hear from you…..(AKA please leave comments!!!)  :)

Enjoy!

-erika

Lizz and Greg were married July 31st.  This was the first time I’ve been to Simple Pleasures to shoot and I had a blast!  There is so much cool stuff in that place!  Oh and not to mention the beautiful cars!!!

Ceremony: Highlands Methodist Church

Reception: Simple Pleasures

Cake: Rick’s Bakery

Floral: Breezy’s

DJ: MS Soundworks

They were married at Highlands Methodist Church in Bella Vista.  He’s a pretty proud Dad!!!  :)  And she’s all smiles!

Meet Mr. and Mrs. Evans!

We had some great lighting for our couple shots! Isn’t she beautiful?  I just love that red hair!

A beautiful first dance shared together for the first time as a married couple!

These two are both extremely involved in music.  Lizz lead her group in song while Greg decided his group would serenade his girl!

Lizz’s dad surprised them with a ride in the get a way car as they left their reception.   I just love it when couples have these old cars to get a way in!  There’s just something different about it than pulling away in a 1998 Nissan………

Congratulations you two!

Enjoy!

-erika

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!

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.

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!!!

*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.

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

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

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

*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!  :)

Gorgeous lighting.

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

And forehead kisses… bonus!!!

This picture sums up the couple.  Perfect.

Enjoy!

-Donnally

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

Let’s start with all the BEAUTIFUL details!

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.

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?

Isn’t she a beauty?

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!

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

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

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

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

I just love these purple bridesmaid dresses!

What a gorgeous dress!

Ashton’s smile as she sees her groom……

Along with Adam’s smile!  :)

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

What a beautiful day and location for a wedding day!

These two little girls were adorable!

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

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

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

What a beautiful wedding cake too!

Some more cake cutting…………..

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

Awww and a cute Hog kiss to seal the deal!

Perfect toss Ashton!

And yes Adam you did well too!

What a beautiful happy couple!

Congratulations you two!

Enjoy!

-erika

Let’s start with some getting ready shots……

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!

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!)

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

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!!!!

This is just too cute!

This image is so timeless to me!

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

A little brotherly love….

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

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

LOVE.

What a stunning bride!

Gorgeous couple + gorgeous light = wedding perfection!

Their wedding was held at the beautiful Pratt Place Inn.

Anticipation.

What a gorgeous ceremony inside the barn.

They seem a little excited!

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

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

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.

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!

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!

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

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

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

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!!!)

Alyssa seems to be a pretty hardcore fan herself!

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

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!

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

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

Seth’s facial expression here is just great!

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

I love how much fun they are having together!

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

What a fun grand exit!

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

Enjoy!

-erika

Enjoy!

erika

These ice lanterns are a total do it yourself project for anyone planning a winter wedding!  How cute!!!

You need two buckets, one smaller then the other.

Some greens, I love to use olive branches.

Fill the biggest bucket half full with water.

Place the smaller bucket inside it and place some rocks or something heavy to keep in in place.

Add more water, the water level should be to the top.

Add your branches to the sides of the bucket.

Use some tape to keep the small bucket in the middle of the big one.

Now set the whole thing outside to freeze.

Once its frozen, remove the small bucket first and then the large one.

You now have a beautiful ice lantern.

Place a votive candle inside and voila, the party can start.

What a cute idea!  And just for all you brides, details like this make your wedding rock that much harder!!!  Photographers love little details!

I love how they pulled these centerpieces together!  I usually get stuck in that rut that these centerpieces things have to be super fancy, but these are totally cute and another DIY!!!!

Steps for a Full Wrap Treatment
Step 1:Measure paper around the vase. Leave about 1″ on the neck for a ribbon treatment.
Step 2:Cut the paper. Adhere one edge of the paper to the glass with glue dots. Wrap the other side around and secure with more glue dots.
Step 3:Cover the top rough edges with a grosgrain ribbon.

Steps for a Middle Band Treatment
Step 1:Measure paper around the vase.
Step 2:Cut first band to measure 5″, second to measure 3.5″.
Step 3:Stick first wrap to the vessel with glue dots. Layer on the 3″ band,again using glue dots.
Step 4:Top it off with ribbon treatment.

Anything personalized is super cute but these are adorable.  If you planned on a wedding in the summer and thought of these fans think how much your guests would love to have this keepsake!!!

I saw these at Forever 21 and instantly thought they would be perfect for a stylish bride!!!

This idea struck me as an important one for all couples planning a wedding.  I like to ask “what is your photography budget”, and I usually get this response “well we really haven’t thought about it” or “we don’t really have one”.  My first piece of advice for you is make one!!!  It will be the most important thing you do to keep your wedding costs down and be able to get what you actually want.  Wedding expenditures add up and quickly but if you are prepared with a budget that will help.  Also it’s a great idea to start budgeting together as a couple, since now you’ll probably have some sort of a joint account.  This website isn’t just geared toward weddings either but it’s a great way to keep track of what you are saving!  Be sure to check it out smartypig.com

Enjoy!

-erika