The Number of People Putting QR Codes in Wedding Invitations Is Rising Rapidly
Confirming Attendance with a QR Code Instead of a Reply Postcard
Traditionally, a wedding invitation comes with a reply postcard enclosed for guests to report whether they will attend. Recently, however, a growing number of couples accept attendance confirmations through a QR code instead of (or alongside) a reply postcard.
When guests scan the QR code printed on the invitation, Google Forms or a dedicated website opens, and they can answer about attendance, allergy information, whether they want to use the shuttle bus, willingness to take part in the entertainment, and more all at once. Information that would not fit on a reply postcard can be easily collected digitally.
For the bride and groom, too, responses are automatically tallied in a spreadsheet, which saves them the trouble of checking reply postcards one by one by hand. It also cuts the cost of "postage for reply postcards times the number of invited guests." If you invite 100 people, you save 6,300 yen on postage alone (63 yen times 100 cards).
Venue Directions and the Day's Schedule
When the wedding venue is hard to find, it is common to print a map on the invitation. However, paper maps have a limited scale, and it can be difficult to show the route from the nearest station in detail.
With a QR code, you can share a Google Maps pin directly. Just scanning it launches the smartphone's navigation and displays the route from the current location to the venue. It can cover all the information that paper cannot fully convey, from train transfer directions to the location of the parking lot and even photos of the entrance.
Sharing the day's schedule with a QR code is also convenient. "Check-in 14:00, ceremony 14:30, reception 15:30, after-party 18:00." Writing it on a paper invitation takes up space, but with a QR code you just link to a detailed schedule page. Notes on the dress code, rules for taking photos, declining wedding gift money (for fee-based receptions), and more can also be gathered at the QR code's link destination.
Sharing a Movie About How the Couple Met Through a QR Code
A QR code is added to the invitation, and when scanned, a movie about how the couple met plays. This touch is very popular with guests.
How they first met, the place of their first date, the story of the proposal. The format is up to you, whether it is a slideshow combining photos and short text or a video with narration in the couple's own voices. Between the arrival of the invitation and the wedding day, guests come to think, "I'm looking forward to going to this couple's wedding." The QR code plays the role of a "trailer" that builds anticipation for the wedding.
Some couples make a short version for the invitation (1 to 2 minutes), separate from the profile movie shown at the reception. If you close it with "The rest is a surprise for the day," the guests' anticipation grows even further.
Going Cashless with Wedding Gift Money
Something more and more people are adopting for weddings is cashless wedding gift money. Some couples are introducing a system in which a QR code is printed on the invitation and scanning it lets guests send wedding gift money by electronic payment.
For guests, it removes the trouble of preparing crisp new bills, the trouble of buying a gift money envelope, and the risk of carrying cash on the day. For the bride and groom, managing the gift money at the reception desk (the risk of loss, checking the amounts) becomes unnecessary.
However, in Japan the culture that "wedding gift money is something you hand over in cash" is still deeply rooted, and some guests feel reluctant about going cashless. For that reason, many couples make it a choice of "either cashless or cash is fine." The good thing about a QR code is that it can offer a new option as an "addition" rather than something "forced."
Harmonizing the QR Code with the Invitation Design
A wedding invitation is an important item that shows the couple's taste. If a clunky black-and-white QR code were plopped onto an otherwise beautiful design, it would ruin it.
There are tips for blending a QR code into the invitation design. Change the color of the QR code to match the invitation's theme color (dark modules on a white background are the basis). Place the couple's initials or monogram in the center of the QR code (with error correction level H, data can be restored with up to about 30% of the data (codewords) lost, so there is room to put a decoration in the center. This does not mean you may cover 30% of the area, so keep decorations within 20% and do not hide the finder patterns in the three corners). Surround the QR code with illustrations of flowers or ribbons to present it as part of the design.
The best design is one that blends in so naturally that people say, "I didn't even notice there was a QR code."