Does a wedding QR code expire?
No: the QR code itself never expires or changes, but the event behind it does, 14 days after creation free or 12 months after upgrading. After that, scanning shows that the event has ended and the photos are gone. Printing early? Upgrade first, $19.99 (£15.99 in the UK) once.
What it costs
- Free: 20 photos per guest, kept 14 days from when you create the event
- Paid: $19.99 (£15.99 in the UK) per event for unlimited photos and videos per guest, kept up to 12 months
- One-time payment. No subscription and no fee per guest.
When does the clock start?
On the day you create the event, not on the wedding day. Nothing in the event asks for a wedding date, so a free event counts 14 days from the moment you create it. On the paid plan the 12 months count from the upgrade: upgrade during the party or the morning after and you get the full 12 months from then. If the event already runs later than that, the later date stays.
The host page shows the date the event expires, so you never have to work it out.
Can I print the code on invitations months ahead?
Yes, if the event is on the paid plan when you print. A free event created for the invitations would expire, and be deleted, 14 days later, long before the wedding. So either:
- create the event and upgrade it before anything is printed, which gives 12 months, or
- print only the things made in the week of the wedding (table cards, the welcome sign) and create a free event that week.
Free events can be upgraded later without reprinting, because the code stays the same. More on where the code goes: where to put QR codes at a wedding.
What do guests see after the event ends?
A short page saying that the event has ended and the gallery is no longer available. The day after the expiry date the event and every photo and video in it are deleted, on both plans, and that is permanent: there is nothing to restore. That is a privacy choice as much as a storage one. The host gets reminder emails before the date; download the ZIP before it.
Why do some QR codes stop working?
Because many free generators make dynamic codes: the code holds the generator’s short link, which forwards to your page, and the forwarding only runs while the account does. QR Code Generator puts it plainly in its own article: “QR Codes do not technically expire.” “Static QR Codes last forever, but they’ll fail if the linked URL breaks.” Dynamic codes made during a free trial “deactivate automatically when the trial period finishes”, and when a subscription lapses the links pause until it is renewed.
So a code from a generator’s free trial can work at the proofing stage and fail after the invitations are in the post. If you use a generator for anything printed, make a static code. Our code is neither kind of problem: it is made with your event, holds your event’s own address, and keeps working until the event ends.
Source. QR Code Generator’s article “Do QR codes expire?”, dated February 11, 2026, read October 29, 2026; words in quotation marks are theirs. We are not affiliated with QR Code Generator.
- QR Code Generator: qr-code-generator.com/blog/do-qr-codes-expire
What does not change?
The QR code, the link and the six-character event code. They stay the same through an upgrade, a new name, a cover photo and a new PIN. The one thing to watch is the PIN: if it is printed on the sign and you change it, the sign is wrong. Guests type the PIN once per phone. More: how to make a QR code for wedding photos.
QR code expiry questions
Will the QR code still work after the wedding?
Yes, until the event expires: 14 days after creation on the free plan, 12 months after the upgrade on the paid plan. Guests can keep adding photos from home until then. After that date the code opens a page saying the event has ended.
Is there a QR code that never expires?
The code itself never expires: it is a printed web address. What ends is the page behind it. A static code from any generator points at an address for as long as that address exists. Our code points at your event, which lasts 12 months on the paid plan and is then deleted, on purpose.
Does the QR code change if I upgrade or change the PIN?
No. The code holds the event’s address, which is built from the event code, and that never changes: not when you upgrade, rename the event, pick a cover photo or change the PIN. Changing the PIN does make a printed PIN wrong, so change it before you print, not after.
Can I make the event last longer?
Yes, by upgrading. The paid plan, $19.99 (£15.99 in the UK) once, gives 12 months from the moment you upgrade, or keeps a later expiry if the event already has one. There is no plan that keeps the photos for good; download the ZIP and keep that.
What happens to the photos when the event expires?
They are deleted, with the event, the day after it expires, on both plans, and that cannot be undone. The host gets reminder emails before the date. Download everything with Download all first; the ZIP link is emailed to you, usually within a few minutes.