Posts Tagged ‘erika liz photography’

What to Wear // Senior Style

September 1, 2010

I decided to start something new…..are you really that surprised?

To kick off the new school year I wanted to make some What to Wear samples for your upcoming SENIOR PORTRAITS!!!  Check back weekly to see some new styles and be sure to book your sessions because my fall sessions are booking up quickly!

I recommend for each session something:

//DRESSY//

//TRENDY//

//CASUAL//

*All styles available at Forever 21

All you 2011 Seniors let’s schedule your portrait session now for all the beautiful fall weather!  Email (erikadotson@gmail.com) today to start booking your session!  Hurry our spots are limited and running out!

Enjoy!

-erika

Hey there everyone!  Several of you ladies contacted me at the beginning of the week regarding your wedding CD’s and I mentioned that I would be sending them out that day……then you all received an email shortly afterwards that said nevermind bc I have a little surprise for you!!!  Well guess what I’m a horrible secret keeper (at least when it involves something so awesome like this!) and I’m just going to share it with you here, then you can be surprised when you actually get them in the mail!!!  :)

I recently ran out of my traditional old labeled CD’s that I give to clients……you know the ones with my logo and name plastered all over them, which gave me an excuse to go order more…….   Well that’s when it hit me!  I’m going to make custom CD’s for all my clients!!!  Yea be excited!  :)

And without making you wait any longer for a picture……….

Erika Dotson Arkansas Wedding Photographer

I’m so excited to get these out to you guys tomorrow!

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

Wedding Photography

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!

Arkansas Wedding Portraits

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

Arkansas Wedding Portraits

Arkansas Wedding Photography

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

Arkansas Wedding Portraits

Arkansas Weddings

I just love these purple bridesmaid dresses!

Arkansas Bridal Portraits

What a gorgeous dress!

Arkansas Wedding Photographer

Ashton’s smile as she sees her groom……

Arkansas Weddings

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!

Arkansas Wedding Photographer

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!

Wedding Photos

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!

Mena Ar Photographer

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!

Arkansas Wedding Photography

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.

Arkansas Wedding Photography

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!

Arkansas Weddings

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!

Wedding Photographer

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

Hey everyone as promised I am posting more images from Cristy and John’s sealing in the Draper Utah Temple!  I got to tag along with Doug Larson their Utah Wedding Videographer and he showed me all the hot spots at the temple grounds.  Cristy and John had so much family and friends there to support them and witness their beautiful sealing!  The weather was perfect, other than being a tad on the cold side (but no one can tell that from pictures!  :)  Cristy and John are such a beautiful couple inside and out and I’m pretty sure someone has got big plans for them while they are here!!!  After their sealing they attended their reception held at John’s parents house in Heber City.  Their family did lots of work preparing for the reception and it looked great! Congratulations Cristy and John! Utah weddings Utah Weddings I just love how happy they are in this shot!!!  Exactly how they should be after leaving the temple! Utah Wedding Photography I love how John steals one from Cristy to show off for the camera!  :)  Shots like this make me smile! Utah Weddings Beautiful couple at a beautiful temple! Utah Weddings This is definitely my favorite shot of the day! Utah Weddings I just love the lighting in this little nook!  The warm glow from those doors is amazing! Utah Wedding Photographer Utah Wedding Photographer Here’s the famous cupcakes!  All of John’s sister in laws spent the entire day creating these beautiful little cupcakes so I had to give them justice and feature them on the blog! Utah Wedding Photographer So who would have thought this old rusty chair that I spotted outside would make the perfect backdrop for Cristy’s bouquet? Utah Wedding Photographer Or how about a tree stump to provide such a detailed ring shot? Utah Wedding Photographer I love how happy everyone is in this photo as the couple enjoys their first dance together. Utah Wedding Photographer This image is priceless to me…..it’s as if John has had a moment to really stop and think as he holds his new wife close.  I can see so much love and care for her here. Utah Wedding Photographer Let’s end with this playful shot of dad and son making sure they “get” the new couple as they make their get a way! Enjoy! -erika

Cristy and John were sealed in the Draper Utah Temple a few weeks ago where I was able to capture their special wedding day memories with them!  Cristy and John are so perfect for each other!  I’ve known Cristy since I moved here to Northwest Arkansas.  We met through church and have been pretty good friends since.  We roomed in college together and she was also one of my bridesmaids when TW and I got married!  Cristy is such a delightful person to be around and she’s always lifting you up emotionally and spiritually!  I remember one time I was venting about how frustrated I was that I was working so hard but still didn’t have any money……..she’s so sweet……..a few days later I went out to my car and she had left me a lovely little note with some money to buy gas!  I told you she was a doll!  Now as for John I don’t know him very well but through the weekend I was able to gather that he is almost identical to how adorable Cristy is….well of course in a more manly way!  His family was everything beyond amazing!  I know Cristy got lucky marrying into such a beautiful loving family!  They all made me feel like I was part of the family too!  :)  After such a wonderful weekend I have some amazing shots to show you guys!!!  Aren’t you super excited!?!?!?!?

We started with a day of portraits the day before their sealing since we were worried about weather and if we would have enough time!  I’m so so so glad that Cristy asked me if we could do this!

For now I’m just going to share those portraits…….another day shortly we’ll share their wedding day portraits and all the details!

Utah Weddings

Isn’t she just gorgeous!?!?!?  When I took this shot John whispered to me….”I am a lucky guy to get to marry her”!  —now doesn’t that make your heart melt?

Utah Weddings

They found this beautiful barn that had the perfect backdrop for some amazing images like this one.

Utah Wedding Photography

LOVE.

Utah Weddings

The wind is so graciously blowing her hair here and it is so dreamy!

Utah Wedding Photographers

I think this might be my favorite image of the day!  I loved these white trees that were everywhere out there!  I also love the look of excitement on John’s face!

Utah Wedding Photography

John worked at this golf course that served as our gorgeous backdrop for these pretty pictures!  I love this one too!

Utah Wedding Photography

John wasn’t too happy about this picture because Cristy’s high heels were ruining the green…..I’m not a golfer but who cares about a few little bumps?

Utah Wedding Photography

This picture cracks me up and it was totally their idea!  It’s so funny how she’s attempting to pull him away from the game!

Utah Wedding Photography

Another gorgeous kissing shot, I’m loving that tree!

Utah Wedding Photos

:)

Utah Weddings

This is a favorite too!  For anyone thinking about seeing their groom before the ceremony I totally recommend it!  You can get more creative fun shots like these that you would otherwise miss!  We could also do a day after session too!

Enjoy!

-erika

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

Danielle and Justin are such a sweet and in love couple!  I have known Danielle for a few years, we attended the U of A together and graduated from the Dietetics program together in 2008.  A few years back I offered to shoot Danielle and her friend McKinzie just for fun, and we did just that, had lots of fun!  We came out with some great shots of the both of them.  Since then we were able to shoot McKinzie’s wedding last summer at the Botanical Gardens and are super excited that she’s having a baby boy too!!!  :)  But we’re more excited that we’re lucky enough to have the opportunity to shoot Danielle’s wedding in Conway this October!!!  I can’t wait.  She is so beautiful!  This girl is truly amazing!  She works with kids on a daily basis and loves every second of it.  And thank you Justin for supporting her in life, because we all know she probably comes home sometimes wiped out and completely exhausted  from sharing that love all day!  We need more people in the world just like them!  Oh and a big congrats to Justin who just graduated from UCA in Kinesiology!

We shot these lovely engagements out at the Botanical Gardens on Friday!

Botanical Gardens Outdoor Engagements

Are they not just the most adorable couple ever?

Botanical Gardens Engagements

I just love the way she looks at him!

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This is just too lovely!

Ozark Botanical Gardens Engagements

Love love love love it!

Botanical Garden of the Ozarks Engagements

She’s gorgeous…….I told ya so!

Botanical Gardens Engagements

I just love this yummy light!

Botanical Garden Engagements

Love.

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Thanks you guys you were wonderful!

Enjoy!

-erika

Monday’s Favorites

May 3, 2010

Today is the last day for this color theme we’ve been featuring and the final color is…….

BLUE!  (saved the best for last! ) – if you haven’t figured it out just yet BLUE is my favorite color!  :)

BLUE

These are darling shoes and would be your perfect “something blue”!!!!!  Just think BLUE shoes!!!!  YES!!!

*Note they aren’t available any longer but were from J.Crew

What a simple cute little bridesmaid dress!  This is also from J.Crew (if you haven’t browsed through their wedding portion of their site it’s a must!)

I just love this simple blue bouquet!  Pretty sure these are grape-hyacinth flowers.

Parasails are in this year ladies!  Take the plunge….. invest…….tell your photographer…….get great images!!!!

I love these blue guest cards!  I love guest cards in general!  What a great detail to add to your wedding!!!  We photographers love love love details!

This blue ribbon is just too too adorable if you aren’t bold enough to go with blue shoes for your “something blue” I love this tradition of the blue bow tie or sewn into the dress!  TOO cute!  Be sure to tell your photographer if you go this route!

These are just too too cute!  Little packets full of rice (I know I know rice kills birds yada yada yada) But they still look cute!  Maybe if you worried about that you could fill yours with confetti or something?

This is all for now.  I’ve got lots of work to get to.  Let’s see let me just list some things out……..

3 Engagement sessions to edit, 1 senior session to edit, a wedding to backup and start editing, and a bridal shoot this afternoon!!!  What a busy busy day/week!!!  I love it though!

Enjoy!

-erika

It’s official!  Chelsea and Stew are hitched!  Congrats!

They had the Vintage Photobooth at their wedding ( I love those things and they are a super great party accessory! )  So of course Liz (she came in to shoot with me all the way from Dallas) and I had to get a shot together!

(This is a picture of a picture for now just bc I’m too lazy to scan them in right now)

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These little masks are hilarious!!!!  Love it.

Enjoy!

-erika

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