A QR code lets guests reach your wedding website with one tap of the camera. These are the details that decide whether it scans first time.
Size
On an invitation or details card, print the code at least 2 cm square. A code that holds a long address has more, smaller squares, so a short link also gives you a code that scans more easily at small sizes. For a sign that guests scan from further away, a useful rule of thumb is to make the code about a tenth of the scanning distance: 10 cm wide for a sign read from a metre.
Leave a clear margin
Scanners need a plain border around the code, called the quiet zone. Leave space about as wide as four of the code's small squares on every side, and keep borders, flourishes and text out of it.
Contrast and colour
- Dark code on a light background. Many phones can't read a light code on a dark card.
- Be careful with foil and metallic inks. They reflect light and can make a code unreadable at some angles. Print the code in flat ink even if the rest of the card is foiled.
- Avoid pale pastels for the code itself. If you want a colour, choose a deep one, and test it.
- Textured paper can break up small squares. Print the code a little larger on heavily textured stock.
File format
Give your printer or stationer an SVG. It's a vector format, so it stays perfectly sharp at any size. Use a PNG for screens, emails and messages. Every thisisourwedding link comes with both, free.
Point it at a link you control
A QR code can't be changed once it's printed. If it encodes your wedding website's own address and you later move to another website builder, every printed code is wrong. If it encodes your short link instead, you change where the link goes and the printed codes follow.
Label it
Say what the code is for, such as "Scan for RSVP and travel details", and print the typed link underneath for guests who'd rather type. Our guide to putting your wedding website on your invitations has tips on choosing that link.
Test before printing
Scan the code from a printed proof, not a screen, with at least two different phones, in normal indoor light. Check that it opens the right page, and try it again after you change the destination.
Updated 14 October 2026 · All guides