Your photographer captures the ceremony. Your guests capture everything else: the haldi chaos, the cousins on the dance floor, the candid of your grandmother laughing. Most of those photos stay on their phones, or arrive weeks later, compressed, in a dozen WhatsApp chats. A single QR code fixes that if you set it up well.
Before the wedding
1. Create one album per event, not per function
For a multi-day wedding, one album for everything is easiest for guests: one code, one habit. If you want separate albums for the sangeet and the reception, create two and print each code only at its function.
Create the album from the wedding photo sharing page. A free album holds 50 photos, which is fine for a test run. For the wedding itself, apply an Event Pass so the album holds 1,500 photos and 30 clips.
2. Choose your privacy settings
- Shared album on: guests see everyone's photos and the live slideshow works. Best for most weddings.
- Approve before they appear: new photos stay hidden until you or a trusted cousin approves them. Useful if the album will be on a big screen.
- Ask for names: optional, but it makes the final ZIP much easier to sort.
3. Test it like a guest
Scan the printed code with an iPhone and an Android phone, upload two photos over mobile data, and check they appear. Delete them afterwards. This takes five minutes and catches most problems.
Printing the QR code
Put the code where guests are sitting, waiting or relaxing, not where they are rushing:
- Table cards or menus: the highest-performing spot. Guests have their phones out between courses.
- Welcome board and photo booth: large prints readable from a few metres.
- The invitation or e-invite: a dynamic code printed months ahead still points to the right album.
- Thank-you cards after the event: late uploads keep arriving for weeks.
Use one short instruction next to the code. Wording that works:
- “Scan to add your photos to our album, no app needed”
- “Help us remember today: share your photos here”
- “See and share everyone's photos”
At table distance print the code at least 3 cm wide, dark on a light background with a clear margin. Gold foil on cream card often fails to scan; test the actual print. See how large a QR code should be.
On the day
- Ask the anchor or DJ to mention it once, ideally just after the first dance or during dinner.
- Run the live slideshow on a TV or projector. When guests see their photo appear on the big screen, others start uploading. The slideshow keeps a QR code in the corner so new guests can join.
- Venue Wi-Fi is often weak. Photos are resized on the phone before upload, so they go through even on mobile data, and guests can keep browsing while uploads finish.
After the wedding
- Download everything as a ZIP from your dashboard. Large albums download in parts, named by guest.
- Send the album link in your thank-you message so guests can save their favourites.
- Leave uploads open for a couple of weeks for late photos, then close the album or set a closing date.
Common mistakes
- Using a Google Drive folder with upload access. Anyone who can upload can also delete.
- Asking guests to install an app. Most won't, especially older relatives.
- Printing a tiny code in the corner of the menu with no explanation.
- Forgetting to test the printed code, not just the file.