Meet Laura & Hugo Bertaud | Elopement Photographer & Videographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Laura & Hugo Bertaud and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Laura & Hugo, what role has risk played in your life or career?
We never thought that we would become elopement photographers, it was actually never something that crossed our minds. Coming from first generation, Mexican-American backgrounds choosing the safest, stable career was the only option for us. We didn’t have support around us to teach us how to run a business because nobody around us ever had and we had no clue about how to start a successful career ourselves. The way we were brought up, if it was risky-you shouldn’t do it. When we made the decision that photographing elopements was something that we saw ourselves doing in the long run, we took a risk and put behind all of our deeply ingrained beliefs about how the world worked to follow something that we are passionate about.

Taking risks to us means going against the grain and choosing a path that you know in the end will bring you happiness. It means opening up to new opportunities that you never thought existed. Taking risks has allowed us to not only inspire the people around us who also were in the same belief system as us but also showed us the determination that you can find when you decide that something is worth following. And taking risks is exactly how we were able to land our dream job & business!

What should our readers know about your business?
We are a Colorado Elopement Photographer & Videographer team that help couples get married outdoors in the mountains! Our favorite thing to do is to go explore different areas of our state and we get so excited when we get to show our couples how amazing it is. Most of the couples we work with are coming from out of state so we help them put together a day that makes sense by guiding them with choosing the perfect locations, vendors and timelines for the day.

We think that something that sets us apart from other professionals in our field is that we are technically a one stop shop. We provide planning, photography, videography and most importantly friendship! We have joined our couples with dress shopping, picking vendors and we almost always still hang out with them after their elopement even! We feel like the trust that we provide allows them to feel like they are hanging out with old friends that they just saw the prior week.

Like we mentioned earlier, we had no clue what we were doing in terms of running a business and when we found out what it takes to do so we were freaking out! Running a business is never easy and it is always evolving. Just as soon as you think you got it right things change and you have to learn to adapt.

The lessons we have learned running a business is that it is okay to fail, invest in yourself and don’t be afraid to ask for help. Failure can create a process of elimination for your strategies and if you don’t give up you’ll eventually reach the end goal. If there is something that will elevate your business or experience it is worth the investment. There is always someone else who can do something better, faster and more efficient than you and instead of seeing them as competition, you should see them as resources. Also sometimes this can mean letting go of control and outsourcing parts of your business that you aren’t the best at.

When we think about our brand and story, we think about providing authentic, adventurous experiences for ANY type of couple who wants to break the mold. I (Laura) never wanted to walk down the aisle and have a big wedding in front of everyone in a place that wasn’t “me”. Just as every couple chooses to decorate their venue differently to reflect the people that they are, choosing the way that you get married can reflect the same. When we (Laura & Hugo) chose to get married we struggled to find the way that felt the most “us”- which was outdoors in the mountains. It seemed like an impossible task and we didn’t know adventure elopements existed. When we started our business and learned about adventure elopements we noticed the disconnect there was with accessibility to the outdoors for minority communities like BIPOC, disabled persons, people with different activity levels etc. and realized that there is a reason why an adventure elopement doesn’t seem like an option to most. Coming from minority communities ourselves, adventuring in the mountains was not something that was easily accessible for us. Our goal is to create a space where couples can get married adventurously no matter what their background may look like because eloping outdoors whether in the mountains or desert or hiking/driving is an adventure in our books.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If our best friends where visiting the area it would be hard to pick a place to go! Colorado is super versatile with mountain ranges, lakes, and deserts! If we had to choose we would stay in Denver for the first couple of days eating at local Mexican food trucks and local brunch spots + exploring the city. Then we would spend the rest of the time camping in our cars in Southwest Colorado near the San Juan Mountains cooking our own food, drinking, hiking and eating all the junk food while we laugh about everything all night bundled in blankets near a bonfire (if there’s no fire ban!)

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
We would love to recognize our parents- although they still have no clue what we actually do, they have shown endless support even if we didn’t become the doctors or nurses that they wanted us to be. Also, we would love to shout out each other because we wouldn’t be in the position that we are without pushing each other to become the best version of ourselves.

Website: www.togetherweroamphoto.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/togetherweroamphoto/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/togetherweroamphoto

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV_V9tyYwyxjAczCBPjcrRg

Image Credits
Together We Roam Photo