Jere Dotten Photography

The Lewis and Cromer family photoshoot in Emerald Isle, NC – Charlotte Portrait Photographer

Jere Dotten — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 16:45:50 +0000

Where did the month of July go??? But, I guess time does fly when you’re having fun! We had family in town for the 4th of July weekend. While everyone else headed home, my 13 year old sister, Taylor stayed with Jere and I for 10 days (some pictures of that coming up soon). I remember being that age, and after spending 10 days with a 13 year old…I wanted to apologize to my parents and grandmother immediately ! But, in all seriousness, it was nice having her here…we had a really good time.

Then, the fun continued when we headed to the beach to see some of our favorite people! I had never been to North Carolina coast, so I was really excited when Clay and Lynn contacted us about coming to Emerald Isle to do some family portraits. As you may remember, we did a session with the Lewis family last fall when baby Caroline was just a few months old (you can see that session by clicking here). And, she is just as precious now as she was then. If you don’t believe me, here’s the proof.

Lynn’s parents, Wilkes and Teresa, and brother, Will, were also there to join in on the action. It had been a while since they had had a portrait taken of them all together. It had been so long in fact, in the last portrait, there might have been suspenders involved, and (if I’m remembering what I heard correctly), Lynn’s dad was rocking a “Tom Skerritt” mustache! So, I would say they were definitely overdue for an current photo of all of them together.

Oh, and can you tell it was a bit windy??? Well, this was nothing compared to the evening before (when we were originally supposed to shoot). You would’ve thought a tropical storm was about to make landfall.

My perspective…

…and Jere’s perspective…

And, I have to say, Will, this was by far our favorite from the “man pictures” series!

Thank you all SO much for such a great weekend! And, it was so good to meet some of your family, Lynn. We seriously had a lot of fun with you all! THANK YOU again for EVERYTHING!!!

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

Jere Dotten — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 16:23:18 +0000

Caroline and Josh were married on the 19th of June, and it was such a beautiful day! Everyone was extremely relaxed and so happy, which always makes for a good day.

There was an accident on I-77 that caused some traffic, so there was a possibility the ceremony would have to be delayed. But, it turned out all the guests (as far as we know) made it in time, and the ceremony ended up starting right on time.

But, even with the slight delays here and there, Caroline was still all smiles. The girls started getting ready at Caroline’s parent’s home.

Caroline’s dad suiting up.

The bride was getting a little teary-eyed here…

I LOVED her shoes!

Caroline’s gift to Josh.

Then it was time to head to Davidson United Methodist Church. Then, it was off to The Point for the reception. We had just a few minutes to get some shots of the newlyweds.

An emotional father/daughter dance…it was so sweet.

Congratulations you two!!! We hope you’re having a great time on the honeymoon!

Ceremony: Davidson United Methodist Church

Reception: The Point Club

Hair: Jessica Elyasian of Theory Salon

Makeup: Morgan Poplin

Flowers: Willow Branch Flowers and Design

Band: The Catalinas

Caterer: The Point Club

Cake: The Point Club

Kelly & Brandon’s wedding in Charlotte, NC (Part II) – Charlotte Wedding Photographer

Jere Dotten — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 17:02:54 +0000

If you missed part 1, it can be found here! So, after Kelly and Brandon’s “first look” at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Uptown, we had plenty of time to get shots there and at The Dunhill Hotel.

The gorgeous bouquets and alter pieces by Todd Murphy Events.

Love this…immediately after the ceremony, the first couple of minutes as husband and wife.

The food and the cakes were from La-Tea-Da’s Catering…and they were AH-MAZING! When I found out there was going to be bar-b-q, potato salad, and macaroni and cheese, not gonna lie, I was pretty excited!

After going to a farmer’s market to get fresh flowers the morning of the wedding, the maid of honor (Kelly’s sister, Kristen) and a friend, Dina, made the centerpieces themselves! Aren’t they beautiful!?

The “last dance” of the evening…just the two of them.

From the engagement session, to the bridals, to the wedding, we had so much fun with you guys! When Jere and I finally make it down to Greenville, we have to get together!

Congratulations!!!

Kelly & Brandon’s wedding in Charlotte, NC (Part I) – Charlotte Wedding Photographer

Jere Dotten — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 18:47:51 +0000

Kelly and Brandon were married last Friday! Like always, Jere and I have a hard time narrowing down our favorites, so we’ve decided on a 2 part wedding post. I’m sure you all won’t mind, right???

Well, we started off in the penthouse suite at The Dunhill Hotel in Uptown Charlotte where Kelly was getting ready! These three shots were taken on one of the two balconies that the suite had…pretty nice view, huh!?

The gorgeous bouquets were done by Todd Murphy Events.

And, hair and makeup on the bride was done by none other than the fabulous Kymm of Who’s the Fairest?.

Kelly and Brandon chose to do a “first look,” and see each other before the ceremony. Their quiet moment together was truly beautiful. Here are quite a few shots from my angle and from Jere’s angles.

Stay tuned for part 2 coming up tomorrow!

Kelly’s bridal session in Charlotte, NC – Charlotte Wedding Photographer

Jere Dotten — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 15:07:01 +0000

Since Kelly and Brandon were married last week, we can now show some of our favorites from Kelly’s bridal session! Enjoy!

Part one of Kelly and Brandon’s wedding is coming up next!

P.S. If you haven’t seen their fusion video yet, you can check it out here!

The Justus family photoshoot in Garner, NC – Charlotte Portrait Photographer

Jere Dotten — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 14:44:24 +0000

After the great buffalo chicken sandwich at Cameron Bar & Grill, the oh so yummy frozen custard at Goodberry’s Creamery, and a little antiquing at Cameron Village, we headed out to the second shoot of the day with Heather (who works with Kelly), Brad, and their adorable son, Ben. Well, when we arrived at their home, they told us that Ben was not feeling well and had a fever. I felt so bad for him! But, he did SO good throughout the entire session!

Meet the Justus family…

And, the rest of the family…Ben’s older sisters.

We decided to end the session with Ben in his pool. Since this was his first time in the pool..this reaction is to be expected!

We are so sorry that Ben wasn’t feeling well…we hope he is feeling MUCH BETTER now! You guys were great and we hope you enjoy your pictures!

The Sokolowski family photoshoot in Raleigh, NC – Charlotte Portrait Photographer

Jere Dotten — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 18:17:04 +0000

Jere and I headed out to Raleigh, NC recently to do two family shoots. The first of the day was Kelly, Kurt and their beautiful, brand new, baby boy, James..only 8 days old!

LOVE this one!

Jere broke out the Canon 1N for some grainy b&w.

Kelly and Kurt-thank you for allowing us to come into your home and document this wonderful new chapter in your lives.

Also, thank you for pointing us towards Cameron Village! I’m pretty sure I had the BEST buffalo chicken sandwich of my life at Cameron Bar & Grill. And, Goodberry’s Creamery was amazing as well…so thank you, again!

Anna’s for fun photoshoot in Charlotte, NC – Charlotte Portrait Photographer

Jere Dotten — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 15:53:34 +0000

Jere and I recently met up with the fabulous (and gorgeous!), Anna Kooiman, a co-host on FOX News Rising. And, if you didn’t know it already, she is quite the fitness and nutrition buff. Anna recently launched a new segment called ‘Fit Right Now’ to get folks moving and find healthier eating options. And, when she’s not on television, she can be found at the Harris and Dowd YMCA branches in Charlotte, where she teaches TURBO Kick and Cardio Dance Interval (class times can be found at the bottom of this post ). Anna also teaches exercise classes to intercity kids at a non-profit after-school program called A Better World at Christ Resurrection Church. She periodically holds boot camps that are tons of fun with plenty of modifications for all fitness levels. You can check out Anna’s website, Get Fit Charlotte, where she sells nutritional supplements, fitness gear, and at-home workout DVDs such as P90X, Yoga Booty Ballet, Turbo Jam, and Insanity. Oh, and she writes a blog for Uptown Magazine, too.

Whew! Did you get all that!? So, needless to say, Miss Kooiman is an amazing…and BUSY girl! If you’d like to follow her latest happenings, you can find her facebook page here!

Even though Anna mainly wanted head shots for her new website, she brought along her adorable fur-baby, Baxter for some shots as well!

Baxter was such a well-behaved boy! He was a little distracted by the soccer ball being kicked around nearby, but even with that little interruption (which was hilarious!), he was still SO good!

After Freedom Park, we headed over to Uptown to get some shots in front of the Charlotte skyline.

Anna, by sharing your passion for fitness, you are shaping so many people in more ways than one. You have inspired me in so many ways, so thank you! You are as beautiful on the inside as you are on the outside. And, THANK YOU for coming out and spending the afternoon with us.

Tues 5pm Harris YMCA aerobics room Cardio Dance Interval

Wed 12:30pm Dowd YMCA gym Turbo Kick

Thurs 6pm Harris YMCA gym Turbo Kick

Saturdays rotates… Dowd YMCA 11:30am Turbo Kick

Renee & Nathan featured on the La Belle Bride blog – Charlotte Wedding Photographer

Jere Dotten — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 18:26:08 +0000

We were so excited to see that Renee and Nathan’s wedding was featured on the La Belle Bride blog today! Click on the image below to check it out!

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