QR Code Wedding Invitations: Size, Testing and Guest Check-In

A QR code on a wedding invitation does one job: it takes a guest from paper to your invitation page without anyone typing a link. It is easy to get wrong, and the failure shows up after 200 cards are printed. This guide covers what to link, how to print it, how to test it, and the second use of QR: scanning guests in at the reception.

Decide what the code points to

One code, one destination. For most couples it is the invitation page.

Destination	Good when	Watch out for
Your invitation link	The page already holds schedule, map and RSVP	Keep the RSVP easy to find
A guest's personal link, one card each	You print per household and want opens and replies tracked	Longer link, denser code; a card in the wrong hands records replies under that guest
RSVP form only	Details go out separately	Guests lose the venue and time
Map pin	A separate direction card	Useless for anything else
Gift or registry page	Only as a second, clearly labeled code	Reads as a request if unlabeled

Imbitasyon Ko does not make the code for your invitation link; use any static generator and paste your published link. The address can be changed once after publishing, and links already sent to the old address redirect to the new one. Still, print only the final address, so the code points straight at it. If you have not built the page, start with how to make a digital wedding invitation. On Premium, a custom domain such as miguel-ana.com makes the link shorter, and a shorter link makes a less dense code.

Static or dynamic: the one choice you cannot undo

A static code has the URL baked into the pattern. A dynamic code holds a short redirect owned by a QR service, which can later point elsewhere.

	Static	Dynamic
Destination after printing	Fixed	Can change
Depends on a third party	No	Yes, the redirect must stay live
Cost	None	Often a subscription

The trap is the free dynamic generator. If it expires, starts charging or shuts down, every printed card stops working, and you hear about it from a guest on the day. Print a static code for a URL you control and keep that URL alive until after the wedding.

How big to print it

Two things decide whether a printed code scans: the size of each module (the small squares) and the quiet zone around them. Denso Wave, the QR inventor, states that "QR Code requires a four-module wide margin at all sides of a symbol" (Denso Wave). Never crop into it.

The "10:1 rule", code width equals scan distance divided by ten, is everywhere. The QR service QRLynx says it "is widely repeated, but it is not a universal requirement in the QR Code standard", and suggests it only "as a first layout estimate" (QRLynx).

What you can calculate is the module. A longer link needs a bigger "version" (QR size grade). We ran sample links through the open-source qrcode library that Imbitasyon Ko uses for guest tickets, at error correction level M:

Link, including https://	Length	Version	Modules across
Shared link, address miguel-ana	35 characters	3	29
Shared link, address miguel-and-ana-2027	44	4	33
Personal link, address miguel-ana	61	4	33
Personal link, address miguel-and-ana-2027	70	5	37

The personal-link rows assume the shared link plus ?to= and a 22-character guest code (random letters and digits). Add the 8-module margin, then use Denso Wave's formula, module = 25.4 mm ÷ dpi × 4 dots. This is our arithmetic, and it agrees with QRLynx's Version 3 figures to rounding. Clear width including margin:

Printer	Version 3	Version 4	Version 5
300 dpi	12.5 mm	13.9 mm	15.2 mm
400 dpi	9.4 mm	10.4 mm	11.4 mm
600 dpi	6.3 mm	6.9 mm	7.6 mm

So the code physically fits in about a centimeter. Print it larger for the person holding the phone. Paperlust, a stationery printer, sets the floor for a card at 0.8 × 0.8 inches (20 mm) with 6 mm of white space each side (Paperlust). Our starting sizes, all estimates until a proof scans:

Where it appears	Scan distance	Starting size
Invitation or RSVP card	Arm's length, about 25 cm	2.5 to 3 cm
Reception table card	Seated, about 30 cm	3 cm
Entrance sign (A3)	About 1 m	10 cm
Tarpaulin at the gate	About 3 m	30 cm

Paperlust also recommends the back of the invitation or a separate RSVP card, which keeps the front clean. Error correction levels L, M, Q and H restore about 7%, 15%, 25% and 30% of the data; M is the one most often selected (Denso Wave). Use M for card stock, go higher only if a logo sits in the middle, and re-test.

Make the file, then test it

1. Paste the final link into a generator that makes static codes and lets you set level M.
2. Export vector: SVG, or EPS or PDF if your printer asks. Paperlust names SVG, PNG at 1000 × 1000 pixels or more if SVG is not offered, and no screenshots (Paperlust). That rule is about the print file.
3. Hand the printer that file. Nobody should recolor or re-trace it in layout software.
4. Add a one-line label beside the code. Examples are below the steps.
5. Print a proof at the exact size on the exact paper.
6. Scan it from the oldest phone in the family. Google says QR scanning in its Camera app "is available only on selected devices" (Camera from Google Help), and Apple documents more than one iPhone route, including Camera in Photo mode and Scan Code in Control Center (Apple Support PH).
7. Scan in a dim room, then outdoors at noon, and open the page on mobile data.
8. Have two people who have never seen it scan it without help, then re-scan after the full print run arrives.

Label examples, short enough to sit under a code:

Scan for details and directions
Scan to RSVP by 15 November
Scan for the map, schedule and dress code
Details on reverse: scan the code

Mistakes that break codes

Use dark modules on a light background, always. This is our checklist, consistent with Paperlust's guidance on contrast, patterned backgrounds and foil.

Mistake	What happens
Light code on a dark background	Many scanners refuse it
Pastel code on cream stock	Low contrast, slow or failed scans
Photo or pattern behind it	The modules cannot be separated
Code stretched to fill space	Modules distort
Margin cropped by a border	The symbol cannot be located
Foil or gloss over the code	Glare defeats the camera

Leave a route for guests who will not scan

Parents, principal sponsors and elders may not scan. Print the plain link under the code, plus a phone number or a name they can message. A few replies collected by phone cost less than a headcount you cannot trust; see digital invitations for older relatives.

If you also show gift details by code, keep it a separate, labeled square, never the same one as the invitation. Imbitasyon Ko's gift section can display your own GCash or bank QR inside the invitation. See GCash wedding gift etiquette.

The other QR: checking guests in at the reception

Here each guest carries a code and your team scans it at the entrance. On Imbitasyon Ko this is a Premium feature.

Step	What happens
Before the day	Each guest opens their own personal link; the QR ticket appears on it
At the entrance	Your team opens a check-in link in a phone browser, created from your Guest Check-in page, with no login needed
Scan	Scan Guest QR reads the ticket; the guest's name, group and maximum party size appear
Scanned twice	Reported as already checked in
No ticket	Search the name and tap Check in; Undo reverses it

The ticket carries only that guest's access code, no name or phone number. Treat it like a ticket: fine at the door, not for public posts. Three conditions apply:

1. The ticket appears only on the personal link of a published invitation; a shared link shows none.
2. Both sides need a connection. This is separate from the print file rule: a guest's screenshot of their on-screen ticket is a backup for a weak signal at the venue. Give the door a charged phone with data. If a browser cannot scan, the name search still works.
3. Check-in reflects only the list you entered, so finish your guest list early.

The short version

Point the code at one page you control, print it static from a vector file at 2.5 to 3 cm with an untouched margin, and print the plain link underneath. Then test it on an old phone, in bad light, on mobile data, and again on the final paper.