Guide
How to collect wedding photos from every guest.
After the wedding, your photos are spread across 150 phones. Here’s a plan that works: one place for everything, a QR code on every table, an announcement at the right moment and a deadline. It can be free.
Google Photos and WhatsApp facts checked November 1, 2026.
Step by step
Pick one place for every photo
One album, not five group chats. Free: a Google Photos shared album or a family WhatsApp group. With no app or account for guests: a QR album such as qralbum (free up to 100 photos).
Put a QR code on every table
Nobody types a link at a wedding. A QR card on every table, at the entrance and by the cake: scanning with the camera takes two seconds. For Google Photos, make a QR code from the album link.
Test it before the day
Send one photo from an older phone, and from the phone of someone with no account at all. If it’s awkward for you, it will be for your guests.
Have the DJ or MC announce it
One sentence early in the evening and one after the first dance: “There’s a QR code on your table, send the couple your photos.” It reminds the guests who never noticed the card.
Give guests something to shoot
Photo challenges (“a photo with the couple”, “the first dance from where you sit”, “your whole table in one shot”) give people a reason to take pictures. Ask bridesmaids and groomsmen to remind each table.
Set a deadline
Say when to send by, for example “by Sunday”, because without one, sending gets put off and forgotten. With qralbum, guests can send on the wedding day and for 30 days after with a package.
Remind them the day after
A thank-you message with the album link: “Thank you for being with us! Please send your photos here by Friday.” That’s when guests scroll through their own photos anyway.
Download everything and back it up
Download all the photos at once and keep them in two places, say a drive and a cloud. Group chats and albums aren’t forever, and phones get replaced.
Your options at a glance
| Option | Price | What a guest needs | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| WhatsApp group | Free | The app, and someone to add them | Close family |
| Google Photos shared album | Free (15 GB shared with Gmail) | The link; Google’s steps for adding start with signing in | Younger guests with Google accounts |
| A guest app | Free | The installed app and an album code | Guests happy to install an app |
| QR album (qralbum) | Free up to 100 photos; packages from €19, one-time | A phone camera | Every guest, no account or app |
A detailed comparison of the free options is on its own page.
Common mistakes
- Five groups and links: guests don’t know where to send, so they send nowhere.
- A link only in the invitation: nobody digs up an old email at a wedding. The QR code has to be on the table.
- No deadline: sending gets put off and forgotten.
- Nobody downloads in time: download everything and make a backup as soon as sending closes.
Sources
Google Photos and WhatsApp facts checked November 1, 2026.
Questions
What’s the easiest way for guests to share wedding photos?
A QR code on every table that opens one shared album in the browser. Guests install nothing and make no account, and you get everything in one place.
Is there a free way?
Yes: a Google Photos shared album, a WhatsApp group, or qralbum free up to 100 photos (guests can send for 15 days, the album is kept 30 days).
When should guests send their photos by?
Give a clear deadline, such as a week after the wedding, and remind them the day after. With qralbum, guests can send from the wedding day until 30 days after with a package (15 on the free plan).
How do I get the photos in good quality?
On WhatsApp, guests have to choose HD or send as a document. In Google Photos, “Storage saver” resizes photos above 16 MP, while “Original quality” keeps them whole. On qralbum, photos arrive at up to 2560 px on the long side, or up to 4096 px with Premium.