How to Set Up a Funeral Photo Wall: 4 Gentle Steps

What a funeral photo wall is

A funeral photo wall is a screen at the service — a projector or a TV — that shows photos and messages shared by the people in the room, live, as they share them. Everyone at the funeral, wake, or celebration of life scans a QR code with their phone, adds a photo of the person and a few words, and watches it appear on the screen alongside everyone else's memories. It gives every guest a quiet way to contribute — including the ones who would never stand up to speak — and it leaves the family with every photo and message gathered in one place.

It is different from a pre-made slideshow, which only holds the photos the family already had, and different from a photo-collection service or digital guest book, which gathers memories for reading later. A live wall does the gathering and the sharing at once, while everyone is still together. (If you're weighing those alternatives, see the honest comparisons with GUESTPIX and Our Tributes.)

Step 1 — Create the wall (under 60 seconds)

Create a free wall at qrwall.live and add your loved one's name. You get a unique QR code immediately — that's the whole setup. There is no software to install and no credit card required to start. If the funeral home or celebrant is handling the technology, send them the link; if you're doing it yourself, it works from any laptop.

Worth doing at this stage: choose the Memorial display theme (on the Premium tier) — a quiet ivory-and-sage palette with soft serif type and a slower, gentler pace, designed so the wall feels like part of the service rather than a screen at a party.

Step 2 — Show the QR code where everyone will see it: on the screen

The QR code lives on the wall itself — when you open the display on the projector or TV, the code is right there on screen, next to the photos. Anyone who looks up sees both the memories and the way to add their own. That loop is what makes a live wall work: seeing other people's photos appear is the invitation.

You can add to that, if it helps: print the QR code on the order of service, place a small card by the entrance or the guest book table, and share the link in the family chat or alongside the obituary so relatives who can't travel can contribute from anywhere. These are additions, not replacements — the screen stays the heart of it.

Step 3 — Guests scan and share, and the wall fills during the service

Guests point their phone camera at the code — modern iPhones and Android phones recognize QR codes automatically, no app needed — and a simple page opens where they add a photo and a few words. Their memory appears on the screen within a second of being shared. In practice, older relatives manage this without help; a one-line note on the card ("Open your camera and point it here") covers anyone unsure.

If you want a hand on the tiller, turn on manual approval: every photo and message waits for a one-tap approval on your phone before it reaches the screen. For funeral homes and celebrants running walls regularly, the Professional tier adds AI moderation that filters inappropriate content automatically.

Step 4 — Keep everything afterward

After the service, the wall becomes the keepsake. On the paid tiers, the family can download every photo and message as a single archive — the pictures nobody had seen before, the words people wrote — and share a private gallery link with anyone who couldn't be there. Premium is $10.99/month and can be cancelled right after the service, so a single memorial costs one month.

A small checklist for the day before

• Test the screen. Open the wall on the venue's projector or TV and post one photo yourself, so you know the whole loop works.
• Share the link ahead of time. Photos collected before the service mean the wall is never empty when guests arrive.
• Decide who approves. If you're using manual approval, pick one person — a cousin, the celebrant — so it isn't the closest family on the day.
• Print the code as a backup. On the order of service or a card by the entrance — additions to the screen, for guests seated far from it.

For more on how families use memory walls at services — including the Memorial theme and what other families ask before the day — see the celebration of life memory wall page.

Frequently asked questions