Thursday, May 5, 2011

Thank You

Well today people start arriving for the wedding, which means that Project Save The Date is coming to a close.

This has been a very special project for me and has been a labor of love. I have enjoyed writing the pieces every night before bed, setting them up to appear the next morning, receiving new photos, seeing where the save the date has traveled to, and interacting with readers.

Here are some stats for you all that I found interesting.

-Made it to every continent, with Africa being the last;
-31 countries
-41 States (did not receive Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Utah, Kansas, and New Hampshire)


Thanks again for helping out, following, sharing pictures, and sharing this journey with us.

Kyle

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Wedding Week: Wednesday

Welcome to Wednesday!

Sorry for the lack of post yesterday, I was traveling. We are slowly getting closer and everything is looking great.

Today's pictures are from Sydney. The opera house is one of the pictures that I really wanted when this started. It is one of those iconic images that represents an entire county. I couldn't believe it when I received these two pictures about a week apart from two individuals.  The first one overlooks the entire harbor while the second one is a close up.

Later this week I will post a few interesting statistics about the project including how many pictures received, how many counties and other interesting facts. Thanks for reading.

Kyle



Monday, May 2, 2011

Wedding Week!

Hello Hello-
It is wedding week!!! It is really starting to come together and hit Katie and I. This weekend was fantastic.

Katie and I know that next weekend will be a very crazy time. Because it will be so crazy we wanted to take some time out and create some special time for ourselves.

This weekend was planned so that it would be very low key prior to the wedding. Most of the left work had been completed except for a few emails here and there. On Friday night Katie and I enjoyed a great pizza from one of our favorite places. I had a few pizzas shipped in from Giordano's in Chicago. It did not disappoint.

We also exchanged out gifts to each other. Katie gave me a great display of my grandmother, who passed away just before the proposal. In the display it had mounted one of my grandmother's handkerchiefs along with a poem from her funeral. It is a very touching piece that is already hanging. I  gave Katie a pen an ink drawing that was framed of her high school chapel, which is also where we are getting married on Saturday. It was a great way to start the festivities.

Now on to today's pictures. This is another set that left me speechless. I mailed the Save The Date to a trekking company in India asking them to take it to Mt. Everest. I never EVER expected to even get a response from them. Sure enough, one day my inbox had an email asking me what exactly we wanted and whether there was a time frame. Later that month we received the pictures below. They are simply stunning and some of my favorites.

Thanks for reading.

Kyle





Friday, April 29, 2011

Project Rewind: The South Pole

This was one of the first pictures that left me speechless. When we started there were some that we figured we could get with ease due to the number of visitors, proximity, and availability (Like Disney). There were also some that we figured there would be no way. That didn't stop us.

The picture below was taken at the South Pole. We were able to get it to the South Pole station via the Antarctic Sun, the newspaper of the South Pole. Ironically enough, the Antarctic Sun is written in Denver Colorado.  After exchanging a few emails with the Sun we weren't sure whether it would happen.

And then one morning I opened up my email and was stunned. The pictures are from both the ceremonial South Pole and the magnetic South Pole, which is recalculated every year.

These are some of my favorite pictures because of the uniqueness.

Enjoy your weekend.

Kyle



Thursday, April 28, 2011

Best of the Year: How it Started

And here we are, at the end of Project Save The Date. We are all out of pictures and unless we get some more, the remaining posts will be a reflection on he project, statistics, and interesting stories and facts.

It was always interesting to me who would respond. When we started this Project we sent them randomly to places requesting a picture of the Save The Date in front of the location. We received the first batches back in about a week and a half. The longest was the Green Bay Packers. We sent them a card in October and received a picture back last week. I am interesting in finding out whether we will receive anymore in the future. The larger the corporation or entity, the longer it takes to get into the right hands.

Without further ado, here is the first set of pictures we received that started the whole thing off, Fenway Park.

Kyle


Wednesday, April 27, 2011

So Long Dubai

Happy Wednesday to you all.

Today is the last of the pictures sent in by Cheryl. This picture is outside of the Emirates Palace in Dubai. Here is Cheryl with the explanation.

"This photo was taken outside of the Emirates Palace of Abu Dhabi which is the world's most expensive hotel.  It cost billions of dollars to build, has special floors where only royalty can stay, and there's a pool on every wing - absolutely nuts!"

Sorry today's post is so short. Katie and I are finishing up a few wedding details that is keeping us occupied. Today's picture was the last one that we have so the rest of the way (unless we get more today) will be a recap and interesting facts and statistics about the project. Thanks for reading.

Kyle


Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Camel Market

Hello Hello-

Last week we cut "Dubai Week" a little short because of Easter Weekend. We still have a few more pictures from Cheryl to share with you all. (Coincidentally, at this time they are also the last pictures to share). I will let Cheryl explain today's pictures.

"Yes, believe it or not, but we visited a camel market in Abu-Dhabi.  Located literally behind a mall, there was this market area that had goats and camels for sale - you just drive up in your truck, inspect the camels, and make your selection!"

Amazing how different cultures have different trades and markets. I imagine if someone from Dubai come to the states they would find our markets and what we sell equally fascinating.

Thanks again for helping our Cheryl.

Enjoy your Tuesday.

Kyle

Monday, April 25, 2011

Green Bay Packers

Hello Again-

I hope everyone had a happy Easter weekend. This weekend it really hit Katie and I that the wedding is getting close. We knew it was but it really jumped up on us. Luckily we have the vast majority of things done and just need to work out a few details.

This weekend we spent the holiday weekend at the beach. Part of our plan was to go shopping for beach clothing for the honeymoon. As I have previously said about this project, one of the things that I love is the surprises. We have received so many pictures from so many places and people. Some of them we know we might get, some of them we have initiated the request and some are completely random. Well today's picture fits into all three categories. Back when we started this Project we sent one to the Green Bay Packers, along with many other venues. This was in the middle of their historic run to the Super Bowl and we figured that were a little busy at the time. Well on Saturday these pictures arrived in the inbox. What a surprise. I can't thank the Packers' organization enough. We really appreciate you all helping us out with the project after such a busy season.

This also crosses Wisconsin off the list!. It is looking like we won't be able to make it to all 50 states. The Project has two weeks left and we only have a few pictures left. The plan for next week is to to a recap with statistics of where the Project made it and some of the high lights. Thanks again for reading.

Kyle



Thursday, April 21, 2011

Project Save The Date Visits The Pope

Happy end of the week. Well at least for me and Project Save The Date. Today will be the last day of Project Save The Date this week. We are taking a little break from out great pictures from Dubai. I have been saving these pictures for a while, and I think you will understand why. The first picture is of the Piazza Navona which is another fantastic fountain in Rome.

The second and third pictures are of the Vatican.

The last picture is of the Pope. This is a pretty neat picture. I am amazed that it is so close up.

Enjoy your Easter weekend. We will be back with more updates next week.

Kyle



Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Ski Dubai

We are now midway through "Dubai Week" here at Project Save The Date. Today's picture from Cheryl is from Ski Dubai. Ski Dubai is an indoor ski mountain. As Cheryl mentioned to me, you can go from shorts and 95 degrees to skiing in a matter of minutes. The technology that is going on in Dubai is mind blowing.

Who would have ever thought, a ski mountain, in the middle of the dessert.

Thanks again Cheryl.

Kyle