Jere Dotten Photography » Engagements

Alexis & Tim’s engagement session in Daytona Beach, FL – Charlotte Wedding Photographer

Jere Dotten — Wed, 26 May 2010 20:30:56 +0000

My mom has worked at Daytona State College for MANY years now. Back when I was a student there getting my AA degree (it was called Daytona Beach Community College), my mom and I rode in together most of the time. So, I spent a majority of my time in her office working on homework, getting help with algebra from all the different math instructors, and just hanging out with some really fun people. Some saw me grow up from the age of 8 through pictures on my mom’s desk and stories she told. Others I got to know later on when I was a student. One in particular was Dr. Walter Saviuk. He is such a nice man. He’s funny, a great story-teller, and he always had food for us…the Einstein bagels were my favorite!

So, last fall when my mom was showing our photography to different people at work, Walter was one of them. He told her his daughter, Alexis had just gotten engaged, and that he was going to have her take a look at our website…and, now, it’s already spring and here we are posting their engagement session! Time really does fly! Well, since we were in Florida for a Jacksonville wedding, we decided to head home to central FL and spend some time with family.

While we were there, we got together with Alexis and her fiance, Tim in Daytona Beach to do their session. We decided to meet at the Daytona Beach Pier and start there. And, not surprising, it was already H-O-T at 8 o’clock in the morning!

And, here they are…Alexis & Tim!

Then, we headed over to Bicentennial Park in Ormond Beach.

Then, we decided to have some fun on the playground!

Tim’s a big gator fan, so we had to get a shot of the hat all by itself!

Wow, what a fun day! Thanks so much for being open to all of our ideas. And, thank you for the lunch recommendation at the Flagler Beach Pier…such a great view! We can’t wait for August 7th…see you then!!

xoxo

Caroline & Josh’s engagement session in Mooresville, NC – Charlotte Wedding Photographer

Jere Dotten — Tue, 18 May 2010 19:32:30 +0000

Caroline and Josh met back in 2001 when they were in high school. He was a senior and she was a sophomore. Josh was on the soccer team when Caroline ran cross-country and her team did a warm-up run around the soccer field. Josh of course noticed this beautiful girl and talked to a teammate/mutual friend about her. And, the next thing Caroline knew, they were in love…passing notes between classes, going to football games and proms, then in Greenville at East Carolina University together.

Now, fast-forward almost 10 years later and these two lovebirds are getting married in June! We are so excited to be a part of such a special time in their lives. And, since they will be having their reception at The Point in Mooresville, we decided to head there for the session.

These two are so easy-going and quick to laugh (which you’ll see )…always makes for a good time!

We can’t wait to see you two on June 19th!

Kelly & Brandon’s engagement session fusion video – Charlotte Wedding Photographer

Jere Dotten — Tue, 04 May 2010 23:18:13 +0000

Let me just say that Jere has been researching this project for MONTHS! It sometimes felt like that’s all we talked about for days at a time. Even though our cameras come with 1080p video capabilities, I was still a bit skeptical at first…”you want to do what?” ”We’re not videographers!” But, when he showed me some examples and what he had in mind, I loved the idea! So, with it came A LOT of research on equipment (which, for the most part, he made himself), and the program Final Cut Pro.

It’s still a work in progress, but we are thrilled with how our first attempt turned out! It might need a second to load…enjoy!

Lena & Steve’s engagement session in Charlotte, NC – Charlotte Wedding Photographer

Jere Dotten — Sun, 02 May 2010 21:47:58 +0000

When we got up the morning of Lena and Steve’s engagement session…it was raining. So, Jere and I end up playing the “wait and see” game. Will it let up? Should we call and reschedule? Well, I’m so glad we didn’t reschedule because it ended up being a beautiful day! The sun even came out, and I, of course, got sunburned (shocking, I know)!

Introducing Lena and Steve…

While sailing the British Virgin Islands with mutual friends…these two met (and fell in love)! Now, fast-forward 4.5 years, and now they are getting married at Byron’s South End this October.

Jere and I had a great time spending the morning with you two! Congratulations…we can’t wait for your wedding!!

Whitney & Joey’s engagement session in Fort Mill, SC – Charlotte Wedding Photographer

Jere Dotten — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 15:09:57 +0000

I’m not a morning person. I never have been. And, I probably never will be. But, I will say I have gotten a little better as I’ve gotten older. Jere on the other hand, claims to be a morning person. Eh, I think the jury is still out on that one. But, I will say it’s possible he’s a partial morning person…more so than I am anyway. So, when it was decided we would meet Whitney and Joey at 8am for their engagement session, I thought wow, that’s a little early for me. But, I knew it’d be completely worth it for the great company, the great light, and cooler temperature.

A few minutes before 8, as we were about to pull into The Dairy Barn, we get a text from Whitney that says “OH MY GOSH, OUR ALARM CLOCK DIDN’T GO OFF!” Jere busted out laughing, and I said well that’s okay…we can go get breakfast while we wait. But, before we could respond, she sent another text saying, “just kidding, be there in a few.” And, that’s how we discovered (obviously) Whitney was a morning person! Oh, and they brought us all coffee, bagels, cinnamon rolls and a strawberry scone from Panera!!! They are SO sweet!! And, FYI, the strawberry scone was pretty amazing!

Here are the adorable Whitney and Joey!! Enjoy!

Whitney found a lady bug and she said it meant good luck (which I never knew that)! And, then, not long after, Joey found a four-leaf clover. Turns out, he finds one practically right away EVERY TIME he looks. Isn’t that amazing!? They are definitely one lucky couple! :)

Whitney and I reminisced about our younger days watching Care Bears and Jem and the Holograms (great show!). Our love of the Twilight Series came up as well. We’ve already decided we’re all going to see Eclipse when it comes out in June! :) And, speaking of the Twilight Series, Whitney wanted a shot of them lying on the ground a la the meadow scene. We put somewhat of a different spin on it…and it ended up being one of my favorite shots from the day! (I think you look so beautiful, Whitney!)

We had so so so much fun with you two!!! I still think you two are secretly models! We can’t wait for your bridals, and most of all your 10/10/10 wedding at the Biltmore!

Kelly & Brandon’s engagement session in Charlotte, NC – Charlotte Wedding Photographer

Jere Dotten — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 15:02:32 +0000

Kelly and Brandon are currently living in Greenville, SC but are having their wedding here in Charlotte this June…and we are so excited! They have been traveling between here and there making wedding arrangements, so we were able to catch up with them this past weekend for their engagement session.

We started off the afternoon at Freedom Park. This first shot is definitely one of my favorites…I LOVE Weeping Willows.

Kelly and Brandon wanted to incorporate some Marshall University gear into the shoot because that’s where they met! Kelly was born and raised in WV and Brandon’s family is originally from Huntington, WV, (his family was depicted in the movie, “We Are Marshall”)! They both applied for the Athletic Training program and ended up doin gall of their clinical rotations together and traveled quite a bit with the athletic teams. They were really close but didn’t start dating until after they graduated. Then, they ended up liking each other so much they stayed at Marshall for grad school so they could be together!

Oh, and would you like to know what they are laughing at? Well, I was on a sidewalk next to the benches. I wasn’t paying much attention, but I remember a little boy rode by me to the bottom of the hill. Then, I hear a little girl SCREAMING (over and over AND over), “MOVE OUTTA THE WAY“!!!!!!!!!!! Finally, I look around thinking she’s talking to the little boy, but no, she was talking to me and/or Jere who was at the bottom of the hill (and only taking up about a quarter of the walkway)! I was shocked, but we had to laugh though, because during the SCREAMING she was ringing the bell on her bike. At least that made the demand sound a little cheerful.

Well, between getting hit in the head with a football, thinking Jere was going to be hit by a car in Uptown, and getting yelled at by a 5 year old, it really was a fun afternoon! Kelly-we can’t wait to do your bridal portraits and Kelly/Brandon-we can’t wait for June 11th!!!

Renee & Nathan’s engagement session in Charlotte, NC – Charlotte Wedding Photographer

Jere Dotten — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 20:06:02 +0000

When Jere and I decided to advertise with WeddingWire, we hoped that we would get at least one bride from it…and not long after Alisa from Charlotte Event Style contacted us about setting up a consult with one of her brides, Renee. Renee is such a sweet, funny person and we throw the dry humor back and forth, which I love. We did Renee’s bridal session back in early December (it was freezing), and since she and Nathan aren’t getting married until March, we can’t post those just yet!

We’ve been working on our new website for the past few months and since Renee is a graphic artist, she’s working on our new branding! I can’t wait to see what she comes up with!

Okay, on to the engagement session. Again, it was Fr.eez.ing. It was great to see her and Nathan together. They are such a cute couple, full of laughter. Thank you so much for braving the cold with us!

Renee and Nathan will be our first wedding of 2010 and we are so excited! They are getting married at Belk Chapel on the Queens University campus, followed by a reception at Bonterra. Congratulations and we can’t wait for March 6th!!!

Some favorites from 2009

Jere Dotten — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 01:40:27 +0000

Wow, our first year of business is over and it was more amazing than we could have ever expected! It’s all because of our wonderful clients, friends and family…so THANK YOU! Thank you for being our “guinea pigs,” and allowing us to play and practice. Sometimes it turned out not so good and other times it turned out better than we imagined…so THANK YOU! Without all of your love, support, and encouragement, we couldn’t have done it! SO…THANK YOU!!!

We are excited to see what 2010 has in store for us!

Here are a some of our favorites through out the the year. Oh, and don’t forget to leave us a comment…we LOVE comments!!!

Beth & Jack’s engagement session in Charlotte, NC – Charlotte Wedding Photographer

Jere Dotten — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:25:53 +0000

We are so behind on our blogging! I can’t believe October is gone, and we’re practically half through November already! Where does the time go?! Anyways, this gorgeous couple, Beth and Jack, tied the knot last Saturday. Here are some of our favorite shots from the session…enjoy!

For their engagement session we decided to meet in Uptown Charlotte. Since they were getting married at the First United Methodist Church, we figured what better place to start than there.

Since Jack is a huge Steelers fan, his one request was that we take some shots of them in their fan gear. We love it when couples bring ideas and props to a shoot!

Because Beth and Jack were having their rehearsal dinner in The Dunhill Hotel, we decided to get in from the cold and end our session there.

He totally nailed the GQ pose!

Stay tuned for more of this beautiful couple…I’ll be posted the wedding and bridal blogs soon!

Candis & Cameron’s engagement session on Jekyll Island, GA – Charlotte Wedding Photographer

Jere Dotten — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 20:28:37 +0000

Jere has known Candis and Cameron since their high school days. I, on the other hand, went to the rival high school in town and never had the pleasure of knowing them…until now! Well, I did meet them at our wedding a year and a half ago, but still, it was brief, and it’s been a while. And, Jere’s dad, and Cameron’s dad are in the Central Florida Triumph car club together as well. So long story short, we all know each other.

Anyways, it was really hot that day. And, just so you know, I can get sunburned walking across a parking lot, it’s happened…I’m just sayin’. And, being out on the beach at midday, I had to definitely apply sunscreen. So, as we were beginning to take some of the first pictures, Candis reached over and rubbed in some sunscreen I had left on the tip of my nose. That one action, in a nutshell, sums up who they are as a couple. They are genuine, down-to-earth, good people (who wouldn’t let me walk around with sunscreen on my nose)! Even after just a few minutes with them, it felt like we were all old friends. They are such a fun, easy-going couple…up for anything! And, so in love, you’ll see in the pictures! Candis also brought her adorable daughter, Calea. She is such a sweetheart, and cute as a button.

It was decided Jekyll Island in Georgia would be a great engagement shoot location because it is where Cameron proposed.

This shot was Calea’s idea…I like the way redheads think!

Work it!!!
See what I mean, soooooo in love, and such a beautiful couple!

This was definitely one of my favorite shots of the day! I love that natural light coming through the window.

We had such a wonderful time with you all! Congratulations on this new chapter in your lives, we are honored to be a part of it. Hopefully we’ll see you guys at Jere and Cameron’s *cough* 10 *cough* year high school reunion in October!