Guide
The wedding photo QR code, explained.
By Max Bryselbout · Updated August 2026
The QR code on the tables has become the standard way to collect guests' photos, because it cuts the whole thing down to ten seconds: scan, upload, done. Here is how to create one, where to display it, and how to get it genuinely used.
How it works
A QR code is only a link in disguise: it points at your album online. Your guest aims their phone camera at it, and no scanning app is needed, since iPhone and Android both recognise QR codes natively. The album opens in the browser. They upload their photos and videos, sign with a first name, and can look at everyone else's and download them too.
The same scan opens the guest book, if you have switched it on: a written note, a voice recording or a few seconds of video, using the microphone and camera already in their pocket. Nothing more to install and nothing more to print, because it is the same QR code. The detail is on our wedding guest book page.
A word on privacy, since the question always comes up: that link is the key to the album. It is not indexed by search engines, but whoever holds it can look and upload. That is exactly what you want of a sign sitting on a table, and it is also why you do not post the link on a public account.
Everything is decided by what happens after the scan. If the page asks for an app to be installed or an account to be created, you lose a share of your guests at every step. It is the number one criterion when choosing a tool, and we go through it in the guide to collecting your guests' photos.
Creating your QR code
Two approaches:
- The dedicated tool. With Medley, create your wedding album and the QR code is generated for you, ready to display and to print. It leads to a page in your event's name, where people upload without an account, in original quality.
- The workaround. A free QR code generator pointed at a shared Google Drive or Google Photos folder. It works, with the limits of a shared folder: an account is usually needed to upload, the interface is bleak, and there is no album to leaf through.
Either way, two rules before you print. Test the QR code with an iPhone and an Android handset, on mobile data and not only on wifi, and print the short link just underneath, for the guest whose camera refuses to co-operate. Good news for anyone printing early: an album's code never changes afterwards. You can rename the album, change its cover or adjust what guests are allowed to do, and the QR code already at the printer stays valid.
And the budget, while we are here? Medley is in its test phase: unlimited photos and videos, in original quality, Live slideshow included, and nothing to pay. The album is kept at least until December 31, 2026. It is all laid out on the pricing page.
Where to display it on the day
- On every table: the classic, a small card in a stand next to the menu. That is where guests have the time to scan, and that one holder does most of the collecting.
- At the entrance and during the drinks reception: an A4 or A3 sign on an easel, so the collecting starts with the first photos rather than at dessert.
- At the photo booth, the bar, next to the guest book: where the photos are being taken anyway, and on the places everyone passes through.
- In the invitation or on the wedding website: to collect the getting-ready photos as well, and to get your guests used to the idea before the day.
The format and the wording of the sign deserve a guide of their own: getting the QR code sign right. And if you are in a hurry, our free sign maker hands you a print-ready PDF.
Getting it genuinely used
- Have it announced. A word from the DJ or the master of ceremonies at the start of the meal (“scan the QR code on your table, they want every single one of your photos”) multiplies how many people take part.
- Get it started early. Ask the best man and the maid of honour to upload their first photos during the drinks reception: an album that is already alive is one people want to add to.
- Send one reminder afterwards. A single message with the link (“the album is still open, put everything in”) recovers the end-of-night photos, which are usually the ones nobody else has.
What should you expect after that? Three to five photos from each guest who plays along, and above all a participation rate that matters far more than anything else. The full arithmetic is in how many photos a wedding guest takes.