Your wedding QR code: from paper to website without losing anyone

The modern invitation is a bridge: paper moves people, the website solves things. And the bridge between the two is a little square of pixels that fits in a corner. Done well, the QR turns every envelope into RSVPs that arrive on their own; done badly, it is an auntie calling to ask "how does this open?". Here is the full guide.

What the QR should open (and what it should not)

The QR should lead to one single place: your wedding website — and everything lives inside it: RSVP, the map to the ceremony and reception, the schedule, the buses, where to sleep. What it should NOT open: a PDF (unreadable on a phone), a loose form (you lose half the information), or a WhatsApp group (you lose your mind).

The litmus test: your mother scans the code — does she know what to do within three seconds? If the site opens with your names, the date and a big RSVP button, she does.

How it is generated

If you have a Weddara wedding website, there is nothing to do: the QR is generated automatically when you publish, pointing at your address, ready to download and take to the printer. If you use a standalone generator, check two things: that the code does not expire (many "free QR" generators expire in days) and that it points to an address that will still be alive after the wedding.

The 5 printing rules

1. Minimum size: 2 × 2 cm. Smaller scans poorly in low light — and invitations are read in the living room, not in a photo studio.
2. Real contrast. Dark code on a light background. The gold QR on cream is gorgeous and nobody can scan it.
3. Air around it. Leave a white margin around the code (the "quiet zone"): without it, many cameras cannot find it.
4. Test it printed, not on screen. Ask for a print proof and scan it with three different phones — one of them, the oldest in the family.
5. Write the address underneath. A small line ("ourwedding.weddara.com") saves whoever struggles with the camera. The QR is the shortcut; the URL is plan B.

The mistakes we see every week

• QR on the back of the invitation: half the guests never see it.
• Printing before publishing the website: the code points into the void until you publish. Publish first (on Weddara the site stays live until a month after the wedding, so there is no reason to wait), print after.
• One QR per thing (one to RSVP, one for the map, one for the registry): three codes confuse more than they help. One code, to the website — and the website does the routing.

And on the Save the Date too

The QR is not just for the formal invitation: it works even better on the Save the Date, because it arrives months earlier and lets guests start confirming from day one. Short text, big date, small code — and the RSVPs start dropping in on their own.

Don't have the website your QR will point to yet? It takes about 10 minutes, free, and the code is generated the moment you publish.