QR code for a wedding
Weddings generate a remarkable amount of logistics, and most of it is the same twelve questions asked by eighty people. A code on the invitation answers them once.
Three uses earn their place: RSVPs, the day-of details nobody remembers, and collecting the photographs guests take. Each wants slightly different handling.
RSVP on the invitation
A code to an RSVP form removes the reply card, the stamp and the fortnight of silence. Keep the form very short — name, attending or not, dietary requirements, song request if you want one — because every extra field loses replies.
Print the web address as text as well. A meaningful number of wedding guests are older relatives for whom scanning a code is genuinely unfamiliar, and a typed address or a phone number to call is what keeps them in the count.
The details everyone asks about
Put timings, the venue address, parking, taxi numbers, the dress code and the nearest hotels on one page behind a code on the order of service or the table cards. It is the page people open at 9am on the day when they cannot remember what time the ceremony starts.
Use a dynamic code so you can correct it. Timings change, a shuttle gets added, the taxi firm turns out to be useless — all things you will want to change after the stationery is printed.
Collecting photographs from guests
A code on each table pointing at a shared album gets you the photographs guests take, which are the ones your photographer cannot be in position for. Put it on the table card rather than announcing it once, because people upload throughout the evening.
Choose a service that does not require an account to upload. Anything asking guests to sign up loses most of them, and the point is volume from people who are three drinks in and feeling generous.
Print and placement for stationery
Codes on invitations are read at arm length indoors, so 2 to 3cm is enough. On a table card, the same. On a welcome sign read across a room, treat it like a poster and go to 10cm or more.
Keep them dark on light and give them their margin. Wedding stationery tends toward pale ink on textured card, which is the combination that scans worst — a foil or pale grey code on textured stock may look lovely and read badly.
Test with the phones your guests actually have
Scan the printed invitation with an older phone in ordinary room light, and ideally hand it to a relative and watch without helping. What you learn from that is worth more than any amount of checking on your own current handset.
Then check it again a week before the day. A link that pointed at a working page in March may point at an expired trial or a changed URL by September.
Common questions
- Should wedding RSVP codes replace reply cards entirely?
- Not entirely. Print the web address as text and a phone number too, because some guests will be older relatives for whom scanning is unfamiliar. The code speeds up most replies without losing the people it does not suit.
- What size should a QR code be on a wedding invitation?
- Two to three centimetres is plenty for something read at arm length indoors, and the same on a table card. A welcome sign read across a room needs poster treatment at 10cm or more.
- How do I collect photos from guests?
- A code on each table pointing at a shared album, using a service that allows uploads without an account. Anything requiring guests to sign up loses most of them, and table cards work better than a single announcement.
- Can I change where the code points after the invitations are printed?
- Only if you used a dynamic code — and you should, because timings, shuttles and suppliers all change after stationery is ordered. A static code freezes the destination at the moment it goes to print.
- Why might a code on wedding stationery not scan?
- Usually pale ink on textured card, which is a common look for wedding stationery and the worst case for contrast. Keep the code dark on light, preserve the margin around it, and scan a physical sample before the full run.
Related guides
- QR code for an event posterPut a QR code on an event poster that works from across a room. Viewing distance sizing, placement height and what to put behind it.
- QR code for a restaurant menuMake a menu QR code guests can actually read. Sizes for table tents, laminating advice, and how to change the menu without reprinting.
- Event QR code generatorCreate a QR code that adds your event to a phone calendar, with title, location and times. Free, no account, print-ready.
- Location QR code generatorCreate a QR code that opens a map at exact coordinates. Good for venues, site entrances and places with no useful street address.