Photographer Emily Annette Ott loves perfectly framed portraits, fun candids and close-up shots of all the lovely details that make a wedding day special. But beauty doesn’t come from the external frills of a wedding day, said Ott. More than capturing pretty photos, she hopes her work celebrates couples who love each other.

“As long as there’s a genuine love of the family, of the couple, then the photos are going to turn out beautifully because I’m trying my best to capture that connection,” she said.

It’s why she was inspired to name her photography business Beauty of the Soul Studio, borrowing a quote from St. Augustine: “As love grows in you so beauty grows, for love is the beauty of the soul.”

“I thought that was a perfect representation of the values of my business,” she said.

Ott, a parishioner of St. Timothy Church in Chantilly, first began assisting wedding photographers during summers home from Marymount University in Arlington. “I had done some photography portraits in high school and early college for fun but I wanted to see what it was like to be a professional photographer and I just fell in love with it,” she said. After graduating from college, she launched her photography business in 2017.

“I love being able to participate in that marriage sacrament with the couples,” she said. “I love being able to be present to that special moment in their life. A lot of the industry hypes up the party and the prettiness of a wedding but I genuinely love being able to just celebrate with them.”

After she married her husband, Peter, in 2018, weddings became even more significant to her. “It is so special to me every time I’m listening to a homily or watching a couple holding hands during a random part of the ceremony,” said Ott, who recently gave birth to their son, Felix. “It’s a great, regular reminder that I get of the beauty of the sacrament that I’m entered into with my own husband.”

The pandemic has been difficult for engaged couples, but Ott has seen many work through the challenges to focus on what really matters. “My Catholic couples, so many of them could not reschedule their weddings because they had plans after — they wanted to move into their apartment together or they were ready to start a family,” she said. “The reason they wanted to get married wasn’t because they just wanted the big party.”

One of the most inspiring weddings she’s photographed took place during the pandemic. “They got married at St. Veronica (Church in Chantilly). It was a very tiny wedding, they had to have just family and very close friends. They had adoration beforehand. They had their reception in the backyard with a tent and they made their own cake,” she said. “The whole day just felt so beautiful and peaceful and you didn’t need all the pomp and circumstance of a full modern wedding. I think it’s great to celebrate as best as you can, but at the end of the day, that was an example to me of how I am there to photograph that love story, not the crazy party that happens afterward.”

How to pick a good wedding photographer

Ask to see full galleries of real weddings

“A lot of photographers have beautiful photos on their websites, but they are the cream of the crop photos,” said Ott. “Asking to see photos from real clients is a good way to make sure they actually know how to take photos in the moment in real life lighting situations.”

Make sure your photographer will honor your priorities

“There are some photographers who will pressure you to do a first look (when the bride and groom see each other before the ceremony) when you don’t want to because it fixes the timeline to make it easier for them to get photos, or they don’t want you to spend more than 10-15 minutes on family portraits because that’s boring for a photographer,” said Ott. “Make sure they have experience photographing your type of wedding. You want to look for a photographer who is excited to photograph your family and your love story and not just what makes for the prettiest photos.”