Slideshow of Ivette and Joe’s wedding. Please click on the image below or here to view it. Enjoy!

Happy holidays everyone! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas celebration with your loved ones. It’s been really nice having the past few days to relax and catch up on things after being in South Africa for the last two weeks.

I wanted to share a few more photos with you, mainly from our trip out to Sun City, which is about two hours outside of Pretoria/Johannesburg. The place is filled with a safari, man-made water park, casino, games, segway tours, hot air balloon rides, and even a crocodile zoo! Nancy and I got up extra early two Mondays ago (12/14) and caught a taxi ride (shoutout to Trevor our driver and Meline who organized the whole thing for us) out to Sun City.

We were a bit nervous driving there as the weather got really bad, with both rain and thunderstorms hitting us. But things cleared up when we started the safari tour around 8:30AM. Although the day was a bit cloudy and I wished more animals came out, we were glad to just be out and about enjoying the wildlife of South Africa :). We also stopped by the water park (wished I had brought some swimming trunks!). Below are a few videos and photos of the safari/crocodile tours:

South Africa Trip Part 4 – 12/14/09 from Henry Chen Photography on Vimeo.

South Africa Trip Part 4 – 12/14/09 from Henry Chen Photography on Vimeo.

South Africa Trip Part 4 – 12/14/09 from Henry Chen Photography on Vimeo.

We got to see wilderbeests, zeebras, impalas, giraffes, hippos, elephants, rhinos, and even a lion. Unfortunately, most were at a distant, so far that my 70-200mm on a 5DM2 was just not good enough to get a close-up shot of the animals :(. Next time, I’m bringing a teleconverter and a cropped sensor body. Excuse to go back to South Africa and visit the best safari in the country :).

A view of Sun City from afar:

Here’s the entrance to the Valley of the Waves, aka a mini Raging Waters:

And lastly, the crocodile zoo. I forgot the actual name of it (as you might be able to tell from the third video above, I was too distracted being nervous to listen to our tour guide):

There were a few other animals in the zoo. Fortunately, we didn’t run across any snakes. I felt so lucky to go through two weeks without seeing a single one. As some of you might know, I’m TERRIFIED of snakes. More on that later…

And here are a few more photos of our good times in Pretoria/Johannesburg/Sun City from Nancy’s point-and-shoot camera, starting with Vasti and Pieter. They took us to a South African lounge/restaurant called Moyo. The vibe was amazing there, it should definitely be a place you check out if you ever visit SA. We even got our faces painted!

Here’s our safari tour guide named Solly; we loved his insight on the animals but more so his subtle jokes and sarcasm. We learned a few South African terms and gestures, including a “secret” handshake with the locals…ayoba!!!

We also had a chance to try out Wimpy, a fun fast food joint across the major cities in SA. Their morning breakfast burrito was the you know what!

You can’t go two weeks in SA without being hyped up for FIFA World Cup 2010. There were quite a few constructions going on in preparation for the big event next May/June. Oh yeah, we also had a lovely picnic the day before our safari trip in Pretoria.

Lastly, check back again soon for photo and video of the place we stayed at while in Pretoria. Our time in SA can sorta be divided into two parts: Pretoria/Johannesburg and Cape Town/Stellenbosch. This concludes the first part of the trip. But I can’t wait to share with you part two, which consists of the three weddings I second shot with Christine Meintjes. Bye for now!

Vasti + Pieter’s Wedding: 12/16/2009 – Words, photos, and videos can’t express how grateful I am for meeting Vasti and Pieter. What turned out to be a silly comment about me flying out to South Africa to photograph their wedding turned into an experience I’ll never forget and a friendship I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.

I’m finally back in the states after spending the last two weeks in South Africa. During the first week of the trip in Pretoria and Johannesburg, I had the utmost pleasure getting to know Vasti, Pieter, and their wonderful families. Everyone kept asking Nancy and me what we liked about South Africa (most) and it was the people we both met and got to know.

From Pieter’s parents, brother Carl, cousins, and groomsmen like Wynaad (who was kind enough to be our personal driver on the wedding day) to Vasti’s parents, Anna and Lonngren, Dax and Rene and their three adorable kids, and just everyone else we said hello to…you each hold a special place in my heart. But especially to Vasti and Pieter, I’m truly touched and inspired by the love you have for each other and how you opened your hearts and home to Nancy and me. We can’t thank you enough for not only having us at your wedding, but taking the time out of your busy schedule to show us around your hometown and making us feel like part of the family.

As 2009 quickly comes to a close, I’m so thrilled to start it photographing Vasti’s brother Lonngren and his wife Anna’s wedding, and closing a memorable year with Vasti and Pieter’s big day. Thanks again to the Taljaards and Pienaars for everything. On behalf of both Nancy and myself, we feel truly blessed and thankful for knowing you all. We hope to come back to South Africa (and a first to New Zealand for Dax, Rene, and their families :P) in the not so distant future. All the best to Vasti and Pieter!

Here are some video clips Nancy shot for me throughout the day with color commentary by yours truly :). The first one is during the girls getting ready, the second is right after the guys got ready, and the third/last video is towards the end of the reception. We kinda forgot to record clips during the portraits. Anywho, enjoy!

Vasti + Pieter’s Wedding Part 1 – 12/16/09 from Henry Chen Photography on Vimeo.

Vasti + Pieter’s Wedding Part 2 – 12/16/09 from Henry Chen Photography on Vimeo.

Vasti + Pieter’s Wedding Part 3 – 12/16/09 from Henry Chen Photography on Vimeo.

Sandy + Mike’s Wedding: 12/6/2009 – Before leaving for South Africa, I went up to Sac Town to photograph Sandy and Mike‘s big day. They are good friends with one of my distant cousins Philina and her boyfriend Stanley (thanks guys for connecting me to Sandy and Mike!).

The day started bright and early at 8AM with Sandy and her girls getting their hair/make-up done, while Mike and the boys drove down to Alameda/Larkspur area from Sacramento for the first tea ceremony (at Sandy’s place). Afterwards, we drove back up to Sacramento for the second tea ceremony at Mike’s pad. Yup, lots of commuting, but not as bad since the awesome Sarah Dawson second shot with and accompanied me on the drive back to Sacramento.

We ended the memorable day with a huge banquet, filled with 550+ of Sandy and Mike’s family and friends. It was the biggest reception I’ve ever photographed. We had a great crowd at hand as guests gave toast, sang songs, played games with the bride and groom, and ate yummy banquet style food (I think 15 whopping dishes per table!). Thank you Sandy and Mike for a wonderful day, I hope you guys make it down to LA sometime in the near future so we can all hang out again :).