QR codes for weddings: RSVPs, directions, Wi-Fi and photos

4 minute read · updated 2026-11-10

Weddings are full of small bits of information that guests need at different moments: where to RSVP, how to get to the venue, the Wi-Fi password at the reception, where to upload photos. QR codes can carry each of those, on invitations, place cards and signs, without cluttering the design. This guide covers what works, where, and the one rule that matters most.

The rule: the code must outlive the planning

Invitations go out months before the day, and photo album codes are scanned for weeks after it. Whatever a code points to has to keep working for that whole time. A link to a free trial of a wedding website, a form that closes, or a page you might rename will break printed stationery you can't take back.

Before you print anything, ask: will this exact link still work a year from now? If you are not sure, use a link you control, or a service you are confident will last, and don't change the address once the invitations have gone out.

On the invitation: RSVP and details

A code on the invitation or the details card can open your RSVP form or wedding website. It saves guests typing a long address, and it is particularly helpful for older relatives on phones.

Keep the RSVP date, the venue and a short web address printed in text as well. Some guests will never scan, and that is fine.
Test the RSVP form on a phone. Many form builders look fine on a computer and awkward on a small screen.
If the code is small, around 2 to 2.5 cm, keep the link short so the code stays simple. Long links with tracking or form IDs make denser codes.

A calendar code that adds the date and venue to guests' calendars is another option for save-the-date cards. Our event QR code guide covers time zones and other details to check.

Directions to the venue

Rural venues are notoriously hard to find, and postcodes don't always lead to the right gate. A location code holding the exact coordinates of the entrance or car park opens a map app with directions. It is far more reliable than an address for barns, estates and beaches.

Find the coordinates by dropping a pin on the actual entrance in a map app, not the middle of the estate. If there are separate ceremony and reception venues, make a code for each and label them clearly.

At the reception: Wi-Fi

If the venue has guest Wi-Fi, a Wi-Fi code on a small sign by the bar or on each table saves the staff from answering the same question all evening. It is especially welcome at venues with poor mobile signal. Ask the venue for the exact network name and password, and check whether they change it. The Wi-Fi QR code guide explains the common pitfalls.

Sharing photos

A photo-sharing code is probably the most popular wedding QR code. Guests scan it and upload the photos they took during the day to a shared album, so you see the moments the photographer missed.

Choose the album before printing. Shared albums in Google Photos, iCloud and dedicated wedding apps all work, but check whether guests need an account to upload, and whether the link expires. An album that asks every guest to sign up will get far fewer photos.
Test uploading from both an iPhone and an Android phone, as a guest without your account.
Put the code where people pause: on each table, by the guest book, at the bar and on the order of the day.
Say what you want: "Share your photos of today with us" is warmer and clearer than "Scan here".
Keep the album open for a few weeks afterwards. Plenty of guests upload from the train home or the next morning.

Other ideas

Gift list, on the details card.
Order of the day or menu, for guests who want to check timings.
A playlist, for guests to add song requests before the day.
Live stream, for relatives who can't travel, on a card sent with their invitation.

Resist putting all of these on one card. Each code should have one job, and each should be clearly labelled.

Making codes match the stationery

Codes can be printed in your wedding colours, but the code must stay clearly darker than the paper. Gold foil, pale blush or silver on cream are common choices that look beautiful and scan poorly, because the camera sees them as nearly the same brightness as the paper. Foil also reflects light. Use a deep colour from your palette for the code, and keep the foil for the decoration around it. See colours, logos and contrast for a quick way to check.

Ask your stationer for a printed proof and scan it before the full order. Textured and handmade papers can soften fine detail, so allow a little extra size.

A simple plan

List what guests need and when: before the day, on the day, after.
Make one code per job, each pointing at something that will last.
Test every code on a printed proof with two phones.
Keep the text alternative next to each code.