Design (top-left to bottom-right): 1CreativeMastermind, Blossom & Bliss: Weddings, Amor Paperie.
In our fast-paced, twenty-first-century world, QR codes can be encountered in a variety of contexts. Perhaps you recently scanned one to download a menu, or maybe someone gave you a business card with a QR embedded (someone who had been reading our “15 Innovative QR Codes for Business Cards” article, clearly). But did you know that, in recent years, QR codes have been appropriated for weddings – despite the fact that we normally associate weddings with tradition rather than technology?
Masahiro Hara, an employee of Japanese automotive company Denso Wave, was responsible for creating the QR code in 1994. He probably never saw the applicability of QRs to a sector beyond production and manufacturing, but the fact that the code now has these fun, social uses speaks to the genius and flexibility of his invention. In the following article, we want to show you just how versatile the humble black-and-white grid is, with examples ranging from seating charts and wedding programs to napkins and invitations!
What Is a QR Code?
The QR code was predated by the Universal Product Code (UPC), which originated in the 1950s and which we still see today on every item at the grocery store. Because barcodes have limited storage capacity, however, Denso Wave devised a faster, grid-based code in the 1990s, inspired by the Japanese board game Go: “[this] could hold much more information in a single code and could also be read from multiple directions, angles, and distances.”
Nowadays, wedding QR codes can be used to condense unwieldy URLs into barcodes you can scan with your phone. Payment details, GPS locations, app download links, and contact information can all be ‘stored’ within this two-dimensional barcode, and are then ‘activated’ by your smartphone camera.
The technology behind these square symbols might seem complicated, but don’t worry: Zazzle’s design tool has an in-built generator, located under the ‘Elements’ button on the left-hand side. Simply provide the URL and your QR code will materialize!
Using QR Codes for Wedding Pictures
The principal use of QR codes at weddings is for encouraging guests to populate your online photo album. Generate a QR code that links to a Google Photos or Dropbox folder, and place that code in high-visibility locations throughout the venue – in the lobby, on individual tables, or next to the guest book. These will then serve as frequent reminders for guests to upload the photographs they’re taking to your online gallery (rather than trying to hunt them all down after the wedding). Ensure that you’re accumulating photos on the hour, every hour, with QR-equipped tabletop signs, posters, and banners!
Using Wedding QR Codes for RSVPs
Another common use of QR codes at weddings is to collect RSVPs. Rather than mailing out separate pieces of stationery – though we must admit our wedding RSVP cards are hard to resist – simply furnish attendees with a QR on your Save the Date or wedding invite. Scanning the code will take recipients to an online form, social media poll, or dedicated wedding page, where they can instantly submit their response. “[F]eel happy about doing your part for the planet,” writes The Knot; just remember to provide an analog alternative for the few old-school respondents who might prefer to ‘graciously accept’ your invite by post.
Using QR Codes for Wedding Websites
Speaking of websites: if you’ve been paying close attention to our wedding tutorials on Zazzle Ideas this year, you may have read “Your Personalized Wedding Website Part 1” and “Your Personalized Wedding Website Part 2.” Rather than relying on a hosting platform like Minted or RSVPify, you can use the articles above to build a custom-made URL. However, lengthy links on your wedding stationery can be, well, uninviting: they may detract from the overall look, and can be cumbersome to input. By broadcasting the link with a QR code, you can easily track dietary restrictions and preferences, explain the dress code, provide directions, and even process those all-important RSVPs!
Using Wedding QR Codes at Your Venue
Of course, a QR code can help guests navigate the non-digital world, too. Prior to the wedding, a QR grid on an enclosure card or envelope could direct guests to a Google Maps location or GPS coordinates, ensuring they find their way to the venue on time. Then, on the day of the wedding, place QR signage in busy areas so friends and family can consult the itinerary or follow a seating chart. Plotting a smooth transition from one phase of the day to another is, after all, crucial for a stress-free day – as we recently indicated in “Wedding Reception Timeline: What Happens & When.” Complement those directional signs with a hi-tech legend (food station here, photo booth there), and expect to see less lost-looking party-goers flagging you down!
Using Wedding QR Codes for Microsites
Mailchimp describes a microsite as “small websites or single webpages […] that promote a company’s products, services, campaigns, events, or entire brand.” Assuming your wedding is a kind of brand – and in the context of this particular article, it absolutely is – microsites are webpages that fulfill various different needs at your ceremony and reception. Log guests’ goodwill via an online guest book, accessible by QR, or introduce a digital version of the menu early in the day for diners to mull over. Encourage live contributions to a charity that’s important to you by sharing their donation page, or invite song requests from the DJ through a QR-accessible URL! That’s probably enough initialisms for now, but having different microsites on display can keep guests engaged, basically.
Using Wedding QR Codes for Thank You Cards
The wedding might be over, but it’s not yet time to retire that QR code generator. Open up the design tool once more and experiment with our wedding thank you cards. For example, The Knot encourages couples to record and share “a personal [linked by QR] thank you for your guests that they can cherish for years to come.” Not only is this fun, modern, and imaginative, but it’s a sweet way to thank those who traveled the farthest or who comprised the wedding party. If the thought of creating personalized video messages makes you feel too much like a Cameo creator, then use your QR code thank you card to send recipients back to the wedding website. There, in one last, elaborate hurrah, you can acknowledge all of your favorite moments and memories from the big day (complete with pictures)!
The best thing about QR codes, however, is that element of surprise: nobody knows what to expect when they scan that jumble of black and white pixels, so there’s always a sense of excitement when you reveal the ‘secret.’ Let us know what you think of QR codes in the comments section below, and in the meantime, here are a couple of more transparent, but no less interesting, URLs to browse: “Different Types of Wedding Decorations for Each BIG Event” and “Say Yes to the Address: Tips for Choosing Your Wedding Venue.”
Eoin is a Content Specialist at Zazzle in Cork. He’s recently bought a house with his fiancée, and thus most of his time these days is spent trying to keep the walls from caving in and the wolves from the door. Still, he’s always open to book, game, and movie recommendations, so if you have some, let him know: he’ll add them to a very, very long list.
