The story behind Haven Photography's annual free wedding photography giveaway... and why one winner became two.
The Wedding Gift has officially wrapped for 2026 and I have a lot of feelings about it.
For anyone new here, The Wedding Gift is Haven Photography's free wedding photography giveaway. Each year I give away my entire wedding photography package to one lucky couple getting married in Australia. No catches, no hidden costs, no fine print surprises.
Just a full 10 hours of coverage, a beautiful edited online gallery, and a memory that lasts forever. This year I opened it up Australia wide and the response genuinely blew me away.
When I launched The Wedding Gift in May 2026 I had one simple idea. Give one couple their entire wedding day documented by me, Ellie from Haven Photography, completely free. What I didn't expect was the response.
Couples from all over Australia entered. They told me about their relationships, how they met, how the proposal happened. They shared their wedding visions, their venues, the little details that make their day uniquely theirs. They uploaded photos of themselves and poured their hearts into telling me why they deserved to be there.
Reading through every single entry was honestly one of my favourite things I've done in this business. Love stories, every single one of them.
What struck me most was a theme that kept coming up over and over again. Almost every single entry talked about how much winning would help. Help their budget. Help their families. Help them have the wedding they dreamed of without the financial stress that so often comes with it. Weddings are expensive and photography is one of the things couples most commonly have to compromise on. Reading that, entry after entry, only made me more certain that The Wedding Gift was exactly the right thing to do.
Then, about five days before entries closed, I had a thought.
Why not give away two?
I couldn't shake it. There were so many incredible couples and I only had to pick one. So I decided to add a second giveaway specifically for couples right here in south west Victoria, my home region and the place I love shooting most. One free wedding photography giveaway for Australia wide entries, and one for my local south west Victoria community.
Two giveaways. One Australia wide. One local.
The Australia wide winner was Sarah and Stevo, getting married in Adelaide, South Australia. The local south west Victoria winner was Georgina and Jack, celebrating their wedding near Jancourt in Victoria.
I, Ellie from Haven Photography, cannot wait to be there for both of these days. Genuinely.
The Wedding Gift is now an annual Haven Photography tradition.
As a wedding photographer based in south west Victoria and available across Australia, this is my way of giving something back to couples who deserve beautiful photos of their day. It opens every year in March and I have absolutely no plans to stop. If anything it's only going to grow.
If you or anyone you know is planning to marry between March and October 2028, make sure you are following along with Haven Photography. The Wedding Gift free wedding photography giveaway will be back and you really don't want to miss when entries open.
