QR Code Setup Timeline: What to Do 3 Months, 1 Month, and 1 Week Before Your Wedding

Setting up a QR code photo gallery for your wedding takes minutes, not hours — but like most things on a wedding to-do list, it works best when it's spread across your planning timeline rather than crammed in at the last minute. Here's exactly what to do and when.

3 months before: set up your event page

This is the ideal time to create your event page, mainly because there's no reason not to. With Hazaaro, creating a page is free — you only choose a plan when you're ready to go live — so setting it up early costs nothing and takes one thing off your list for good.

What to do:

• Create your event page with your names, wedding date, and a cover photo
• Choose a layout and colour scheme that matches your wedding style
• Decide whether you want photos only or photos and video — this affects which plan you'll choose later, so it's worth deciding early even if you don't finalise it yet

Why now: Three months out is early enough that it's genuinely a five-minute task rather than one more thing competing for attention closer to the day. It also means your page and QR code are ready whenever you get to stationery, rather than being a dependency that holds anything else up.

6-8 weeks before: decide on your plan and mention it in your invitations

If you haven't already sent invitations, this is a good window to include a line letting guests know you'll be collecting photos through a shared page. If invitations already went out, a save-the-date style follow-up or a mention on your wedding website works just as well.

What to do:

• Choose your plan (Photos or Photos & Videos) so your event page is fully live
• Add a line to your invitations, wedding website, or a guest information card: "We'll be sharing a link where you can upload your photos from the day — keep an eye out for the QR code!"
• If you're using a wedding hashtag too, decide now whether you'll run both side by side — most couples do, since a hashtag catches what guests post publicly and a QR code gallery catches everything else

Why now: Planting the idea early means guests arrive on the day already expecting to be asked, rather than needing to be sold on the concept from scratch. It also means you're not making decisions about your photo-sharing setup in the same frantic week as seating charts and final headcounts.

3-4 weeks before: order your signage

Once your event page and QR code are finalised, it's time to get them into physical form — table cards, a welcome sign insert, or a line in your order of service.

What to do:

• Order or design table cards with your QR code, one per table
• Add the QR code to your welcome sign or a dedicated sign near the entrance
• Include a line in your order of service, if you're having printed programmes
• Consider a sign for the bar area specifically — one of the highest-traffic spots at any wedding

Why now: This lines up with when most couples are finalising other printed stationery anyway, so it's efficient to batch it together. It also leaves a buffer if a print run needs reordering, without the pressure of a final-week deadline.

1 week before: brief the people who'll make the announcement

Signage gets you passive visibility. An actual announcement gets you active participation — and it needs a person, not just a QR code, to make it happen.

What to do:

• Ask your MC, best man, or a close family member to mention the photo page during a natural pause — after the ceremony or before the meal works well
• Give them a rough script rather than leaving it to chance: "If you've been snapping away today, there's a QR code on your tables where you can share your photos with the couple — they'd love to see them."
• Do a final check that your event page looks right and your plan is active
• Send a reminder to close family and the wedding party specifically, since they're often the source of the best candid shots

Why now: Leaving this until the morning of the wedding means it's competing with a hundred other last-minute things and easily gets forgotten. A week out, it's a two-minute conversation rather than a scramble.

The day itself and the days after

On the day, your only job is making sure the QR code is visible and the announcement actually happens — everything else runs itself. Afterwards, don't let momentum drop:

• Send the link out again 1-2 days later. Many guests intend to upload but get swept up in the celebrations. A follow-up message gives everyone a second chance, and often brings in the best late-night photos guests took once the dancing really got going.
• Download everything in full resolution once you're ready to go through it — see our guide on what to do with your wedding guest photos for how to organise and back them up properly.

Why the timeline matters more than the setup itself

The actual technical setup — creating a page, choosing a plan, printing a code — takes under half an hour in total across the whole process. What makes the difference between a gallery that fills up with hundreds of photos and one that gets a handful of half-hearted uploads is almost entirely about timing: planting the idea early, getting signage sorted without a last-minute rush, and making sure someone actually says something out loud on the day. Spread across three months, it's barely noticeable. Crammed into the final week, it's one more thing you don't have time for.