How to get wedding guests to actually share their photos

Remove every obstacle at the door

Each extra thing a guest has to do costs you participants: downloading an app, creating an account, remembering a password. The easiest route is a QR code that opens the camera straight in the browser. With Foreveh guests need neither an app nor an account; the free iPhone app is only an extra option for those who want it.

Put cards where people actually stand and wait: on every table, at the bar, by the entrance and by the gift table. Test the cards with a couple of different phones before printing them all.

Your MC is the most important channel

A sign can be overlooked. An announcement from the microphone reaches everyone at once — and gives guests permission to have their phones out. Ask your MC to mention it early, ideally just before the meal, and to give a short reminder before the dancing. Here is a script of about twenty seconds that can be read straight from the card:

“Quick one before we eat: on every table there’s a card with a QR code. Point your phone camera at it — no app needed — and you’re one of tonight’s photographers. Photos show up on the screen here, and every single one goes into the couple’s album. Take the pictures they’ll miss!”

If there is no screen at the venue, replace the line about the screen with ‘Everything goes straight into their album.’

Give them something to look for

‘Take photos’ is a vague request. Small prompts make it easier to start and bring you pictures you would not otherwise get. Foreveh has table cards with an ‘I spy’ photo challenge, a photo-guestbook card and a morning-after card, in several designs and sizes. Pick a few prompts that suit your wedding:

1. The best dance move on the floor.
2. A happy tear.
3. The biggest laugh at the table.
4. The whole table in one photo.
5. A detail the couple didn’t get to see.

Lead by example

Guests tend to do what they see others doing. Ask your wedding party and close friends to share a few photos during the ceremony or drinks, so the album and wall have something in them from the start. An empty album feels like a question nobody has answered; ten photos feel like a party that has already begun.

Let the wall do the work

A live wall on a TV or projector is the most visible reminder you can have. As soon as the first photos appear, everyone can see the camera is in use and that sharing is welcome.

Start the wall early, ideally during drinks, and share the first few photos yourselves so it is never empty. By default each guest can publish 24 photos to the wall, and every photo also goes into the couple’s album. An automatic content check runs before photos appear, and you can hide photos or pause the wall from your phone.

Give them a second chance the morning after

Many guests take photos with their normal camera and forget to share them. By default guests can keep adding photos for 30 days after the wedding, so they can share from their camera roll the morning after — and the week after. Guests who ask for it get one email with a link to the gallery the morning after.

Put a morning-after card on the breakfast table if guests are staying over, and send the link in a short message to anyone who didn’t get round to it. The camera, album and live wall are included in every size — and you can try everything free with up to 20 sharing guests.