Former Go Girls actress Alix Bushnell is known for being a bit of an optimist. So when strong gusts threatened to disrupt her wedding to her partner of nearly three years, Chris Tunnell, she wasn’t worried.
Making her way across the grass to the strains of Lakmé’s Flower Duet and accompanied by her two sisters, Amy Bushnell (36) and Georgina Goulding (24), Alix’s future husband came out to greet her with a huge smile.
And as they stood together under a pair of entwined lacebark trees on her parents’ Greytown farm, the wind dropped and the white lanterns swayed gently from the trees.
The couple’s adorable son George watched on while his proud older brothers, Chris’ two sons from a previous marriage, Lachlan (10) and Riley (8), acted as the ring bearers.
“It is the second time for both of us, so we didn’t want it to be about the wedding – we wanted it to be about the fact that we’re a family,” Alix (32) tells.
Vowing to turn to each other when they need help was particularly profound for this couple.
Chris (33) proposed to Alix early last year, when they were taking some time out from the Newborn Intensive Care Unit where George had to stay for more than three weeks after he was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis.
The couple had stopped at a park bench and were talking about the future when Chris asked Alix to be his wife. It was a ray of sunshine for the couple during a testing time, but since then, their love for their new son and each other has made them stronger still.
George has flourished into a happy boy, who has just celebrated his first birthday.
Happy times! Chris and Alix, with Chris’ sons Lachlan and Riley holding adorable George in the middle.
Alix with her bridesmaids sisters, Georgina (left) and Amy.
With so much on their plates (Chris is a civil engineer and Alix is completing a postgraduate diploma in teaching while caring for George), planning their big day was no simple task.
Alix admits, having experienced the big white wedding the first time around, she was more than happy to go down to the registry office to make things official.
“We didn’t care about the wedding, it was just an expense. But when both our mothers found out, they were like, ‘No! Absolutely not!’” Alix recalls.
“We thought we’d have close friends and family, and keep the numbers to about 60 guests, but it soon got to 90.”
Chris’ mother Elaine Wallis and Alix’s, Anne Hannah, were more than happy to help.
The couple had only one venue in mind for their low-key nuptials, Alix’s father John and his wife Liz’s picturesque Wairarapa property.
Built in 1912, it was originally the home of nuns from St Brigid’s Parish. The old chapel, now a formal dining room, would be perfect for their ceremony if the weather turned.
Chris built the pergola that was adorned with festoon lights, and the tables were set with candles and hydrangeas. Alix called on her friend and expert cake maker Bonnie Berkett, who came runner-up in the third season of the US series Hell’s Kitchen in 2007 to create the centrepiece for this occasion. The pair met after Bonnie moved to Napier with her Kiwi husband and judged a wearable arts competition with Alix. At 24 weeks pregnant, she took on the enormous task of constructing the three-tier carrot, banana and chocolate wedding cake. And it was her idea to bake a gorgeous matching birthday cake for George.
But for an actress, it wouldn’t be right if there wasn’t a little bit of drama. Alix admits her sunny outlook was tested, especially when it came to finding a chef. “We went through five caterers. – I’m not making this up. It was hell!” Alix laughs. “We thought we were going to have to cook the food – it was down to that!”
Thankfully, a local came to the rescue. Rusty Donworth owns The French Baker in Greytown and after the desperate couple begged him to help, he agreed. When the fifth caterer pulled out, he found someone to cook the meats, while he handled the salads and bread. The classic white gown Alix wore was also acquired at short notice. After finding a dress and waiting weeks for it to be altered, she decided it just wasn’t right. Sister Amy came to the rescue, offering up the dress she was married in 10 years ago. Alix, who’s lost 15kg since having George, added her own touches and sent it off to the dressmaker.
“So this one is both my something old and something borrowed,” Alix laughs. The “new” could be her pearl earrings, shoes or her gorgeous new hair colour – dyed light auburn and harking back to her Go Girls look. And the day wouldn’t have been right without her cast mates from the hit show, Bronwyn Turei and Monique Bree.
Alix with her bridesmaids sisters, Georgina (left) and Amy.
Girls forever! Alix’s cast mates Monique (left) and Bronwyn reunited for the special day.
The pair went above and beyond to be there for Alix.Monique drove from Auckland to Rotorua, where Bronwyn is performing in the show The Choice. As soon as she was off stage, they then drove to Greytown, arriving at 5.30am the day of the wedding.
“I adore them – they’re like my best friends,” Alix tells. The happy couple had already flouted tradition by spending the day together, but they took a special moment before the ceremony. Alix wanted Chris to be the first to see her in her dress. When she emerged, her groom was overcome with emotion, telling her how beautiful she was while Alix fought back happy tears.
They married at Alix’s father’s home.
A friend created the wedding cake, and Chris had designed the diamond flower engagement ring.
The guests, many of whom arrived with birthday gifts for George, listened as Pastor James Rees-Thomas asked the couple to appreciate each other’s uniqueness and to remember it when times get tough. “An actor and an engineer, what a combination!” he declared.
After reciting their vows, they exchanged wedding bands, Alix’s white-gold ring sitting perfectly with the five-carat diamond flower engagement ring Chris designed and had made in Sydney. Bronwyn also a talented musician – sang Brooke Fraser’s Something in the Water as they signed the register, then the party began.
This couple understand that there will be tough times ahead. Alix jokes that their honeymoon suite will be in Starship Hospital, where George must undergo a bronchoscopy procedure and get a CT scan in a few weeks’ time. But for now, the optimist is enjoying the moment – surrounded by love. Her glass is not just half-full, but overflowing.
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