The last 30 days before the wedding are a logistical sprint — final headcounts, seating charts, vendor confirmations, dress fittings. The photo side of the timeline is the piece that gets silently skipped, and it's the one that quietly makes or breaks the memories you actually keep. This 30-day wedding planning checklist is the photo-focused companion to your main planner, day by day, T-30 through T+30.

T-30: confirmations and setup week

  • Re-confirm your photographer (if you have one). Arrival time, hours of coverage, shot list, deliverables, and a delivery deadline in writing.
  • Spin up the shared guest gallery. Open your Photobooth event, pick the event code, run a test upload with two or three friends, and enable Google Drive backup today — don't wait.
  • Brief the friendographers.If you're leaning on friends to complement (or replace) a pro, a written brief now gives them 30 days to think about gear, framing and the shot list.

T-28: design the printed QR assets

  • Lay out the QR codes. Place-setting cards (2 × 3.5 in), an A3 entrance poster, a slot in the ceremony program / order of service.
  • Approve the proofs. Most online printers (Moo, Vistaprint, Minted) quote 10–14 business days for standard shipping — factor that in now.

T-21: communicate to guests

  • Send the logistics email. Group email or WhatsApp: ceremony time, venue directions, parking, dress code, and one short paragraph about the shared photo gallery with the event code.
  • Name a "gallery captain" for the day.A bridesmaid, groomsman or close friend who's comfortable with phones. Their job is to help tech-shy guests scan the QR and pick a nickname.

T-14: prints arrive, do a full scan test

  • Test the QR codes on multiple phones. Scan with an iPhone, a Pixel and an older Android. The code must land directly on labo.gallery/app with the event code pre-filled.
  • Plan a Plan B.If any of the printed cards get lost or don't make it to the venue, have a digital QR ready to display on a tablet or TV at the entrance.

T-10: final settings pass

  • Audit the gallery settings. Admin password stored in your password manager, Drive backup still connected, and the plan tier right-sized for your final headcount.
  • Cross-platform upload test. A recent iPhone and a recent Android uploading a 20 MB photo each. Both should complete without errors.

T-7: the final nudge

  • Short reminder to guests."See you Saturday at 2 p.m. at St. Mary's. Dress code: garden party. Share your photos at labo.gallery/app, event code LEAANDPAUL2026."
  • Charge every device and battery. Main friendographer shows up at 100 %, phones, spare batteries, power banks — all topped up.

T-3: rehearsal and walk-through

  • The rehearsal dinner is a soft launch. The gallery is live. Wedding party and family drop their first photos — it doubles as their tutorial for tomorrow.
  • Venue walk-through. Are all the place cards packed? Is the A3 poster in the car going to the venue? Does the gallery captain have the event code memorized?

The day itself

  • Posters up early. Gallery captain or planner installs the entrance poster before 11 a.m. so early guests see it the moment they arrive.
  • A 30-second mic announcement during dinner. "Photos tonight at labo.gallery/app, event code LEAANDPAUL2026, pick any nickname you like." Maximum reach, minimum interruption.
  • Don't refresh the dashboard. Real uploads land 24–48 hours later, not in real time. Enjoy your wedding, close the tab.

T+1: morning-after check

  • Log into admin. Confirm the first guest uploads are in, nicknames look readable, Drive backup is ticking over.
  • Send one short thank-you."Thank you for the first batch of photos coming in. The gallery stays open for six months — keep them coming."

T+15 and T+30: close the loop

Switch over to the post-wedding photo collection checklist for individual nudges to late uploaders, the cut-off date, and the final ZIP download.

The detail that changes everything

A shared guest gallery is the only part of the wedding that keeps working after you've gone to bed. It catches the moments you didn't have time to watch, it stretches the high of the day across the following two weeks, and it gives you a daily micro-hit of happiness every time a new photo drops.

More reading: the complete guide to collecting wedding photos from guests. Or see the pricing page to pick the right plan for your event size.