QR codes for wedding signs and stationery

Updated 5 October 2026

Wedding QR codes are printed months ahead and scanned on one busy day, often in candlelight. The code has to still work when the day comes, and the photo album link should still work years later.

Where couples use QR codes

• Save-the-dates and invitations: link to your wedding website for travel, accommodation and gift details.
• RSVP cards: link to an online form instead of a reply card and stamp.
• Welcome sign and table cards: a shared photo album where guests upload their pictures.
• Order of service: readings, song lyrics or a live stream for people who couldn't come.
• Venue Wi-Fi: a Wi-Fi QR code on the bar or table plan.

Watch the timeline

Save-the-dates often go out a year before the wedding. Many QR code services offer free trials, often of 14 days, after which their editable codes stop working unless you subscribe. A code made on a trial in January can be dead long before guests use it in June. Before you print, scan your code and check which company's short link it uses, and what happens when the trial ends.

You have two safe options:

• Static code, final link. If your wedding website address is already fixed, a free static code contains it directly and will work for as long as the website does.
• Editable code, link to follow. If you haven't chosen a photo-sharing app or built the website yet, an editable code lets you print now and decide later. Pay once and it keeps working, with nothing to cancel after the honeymoon.

Signs, mirrors and acrylic

Mirror, perspex and clear acrylic signs are popular, but a QR code needs dark squares on a solid light background to scan. Ask your sign maker to print the code on white, or apply it as a white vinyl panel with the code in black. Gold-on-mirror codes look beautiful and usually fail.

• Welcome sign or easel: at least 10 cm wide if scanned from a metre or so.
• Table cards: 3 to 4 cm wide.
• Invitations and save-the-dates: at least 2.5 cm wide.
• Leave a clear margin around the code. Don't let floral illustrations creep into it.
• Use matt finishes near candles and fairy lights, which create glare on gloss.

Colours

Deep wedding colours like navy, burgundy, forest green or charcoal work well on ivory or white. Pale blush, gold or silver codes usually don't have enough contrast. Our generator warns you when contrast is too low.

Test it on the day's conditions

• Scan the printed proof with at least two different phones, ideally one iPhone and one Android.
• Test in low, warm light, the way the room will be in the evening.
• Check the photo album or RSVP form works on mobile data and for someone who isn't logged in.
• Ask someone not involved in the planning to try it without instructions.

After the wedding

Guests keep invitations and order-of-service booklets. If your code points to a photo album, keep that album online, or with an editable code, point it to wherever you move the photos. That way the code on the keepsake still works on your anniversary.