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How to make a QR code for wedding photos (free, in 5 minutes)

Updated 25 September 2026 · 7 min read

A photo QR code is the easiest way to get your guests’ photos. But a badly made one, pointing at a page that asks for a login, printed too small, or set to expire after a free trial, collects nothing. Here’s how to make one that works.

Step 1: Decide where the photos will go

The QR code is just a link. What matters is the page it opens. You have two options.

Option A: A wedding photo app (easiest)

A wedding photo app gives you the upload page and the QR code together. The page is built for guests: big buttons, no account, and photos go straight into your album. With Together:

1. Create your wedding in Together (free) and open the Album.
2. Connect Google Drive, so the photos are saved in your own Drive.
3. Turn on Guests can add photos, then tap Make one next to “QR code for the tables”.
4. Tap Print card. Print it from there, or tap Save image to use it in your own design.

Guests who scan it type their name and add photos, and each guest gets their own folder in your Drive. More about the Together photo QR code.

Option B: Do it yourself with Google

You can point a QR code at a Google Photos shared album or a Google Drive folder. It works, with two catches: guests need to be signed in to a Google account to add photos, and a Drive folder that anyone can add to is also a folder anyone with the link can see and remove files from. If you go this way, turn off editing as soon as the wedding is over.

Step 2: Turn the link into a QR code (and avoid the expiry trap)

If your app makes the QR code, skip this step. If you’re making your own, watch out for the single most common wedding QR mistake: dynamic QR codes from free generators.

Many “free QR code generator” sites create a dynamic code that points to their own short link, which then redirects to yours. It looks the same when printed. But when the free trial ends, the redirect stops working, and your printed cards lead to a sign-up page. Weddings are often planned months ahead, so this bites people.

• Use a static QR code, which contains your link directly and never expires.
• Check the code before printing: scan it and look at the address that opens. It should be your album link, not the generator’s domain.

Step 3: Write the card

Guests glance at a table card for two seconds. Say what to do, promise it’s easy, and add your names. Some wording that works:

• “Share your photos with us! Scan with your phone camera. No app needed.”
• “Seen something we missed? Scan to add your photos to our album.”
• “Your photos, our memories. Scan, type your name, add your pics.”
• For weekend weddings: “Rehearsal dinner pics? Scan here and tag them.”
• For a Hindi-speaking crowd: “Aapki clicks, humari yaadein! Scan karke photos bhejiye.”

Step 4: Get the size and print right

A QR code that’s too small, too glossy or too fancy won’t scan in a dim banquet hall. Follow these rules:

Rule of thumb: the QR code should be at least a tenth of the distance people will scan it from.

• Dark on light. Black on white or cream scans best. Avoid light codes on dark backgrounds and gold foil on white.
• Keep the white border (the “quiet zone”) around the code. Don’t let your design touch its edges.
• Matte paper. Gloss reflects the fairy lights and the code won’t read.
• Go easy on logos in the middle and on rounded or colored dots. They look nice and fail in low light.

Step 5: Test it like a guest would

1. Scan it with the normal camera on an Android phone and an iPhone. No QR app.
2. Scan it from the real distance, in dim light, like an evening reception.
3. Switch off Wi-Fi and use cell data, because the venue Wi-Fi may not work.
4. Upload a test photo all the way through, then check it arrived in your album.
5. Ask your least techy relative to try it. If they manage, everyone will.

Where to put your wedding QR codes

• Every table, in a small stand or on the table number. This is where most photos get sent.
• The bar, the welcome sign and the photo booth.
• Every event: welcome drinks, rehearsal dinner, ceremony, reception, brunch. One code works for all of them.
• Your e-invite and thank-you message, for guests who forgot.

For more ways to get guest photos, see how to collect wedding photos from guests.

After the wedding

A printed code keeps working as long as the page behind it does. A few weeks after the wedding, once the photos have come in, turn uploads off so a code found on a stray card or a social media post can’t be used. In Together that’s one tap, and you can make a new code any time.

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