It was a tough day for Halls Gap Valley Lodges owners Jenny and Mark Carmody on Tuesday - their phone did not stop ringing with cancellations in the wake of new COVID-19 restrictions.
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Mrs Carmody said three weddings and 20 accommodation bookings were cancelled after Victoria announced metropolitan Melbourne would re-enter stage three lockdowns.
"We have gone from fully booked to 10 per cent which has been a big knock for us," she said.
"People are cancelling weddings because they are afraid of what could happen.
"We're well managed and we can carry ourselves through this period for some time. But the reality is there is more going out than coming in."
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She said during the COVID-19 pandemic the business had lost about $100,000 in projected income.
"We have only had two people rebook dates to next year. Others we've given back their deposits and we'll just get in touch when the situation changes.
People in metro areas being locked down have been advised not to travel to regional areas - with significant penalties in place for breaking the ban. The defence force has been brought into enforce the edict.
Horsham celebrant Sandy Wills said some weddings were being rescheduled, particularly in light of the South Australia border closing.
"I travel interstate a lot for weddings, especially South Australia. I was also booked for a wedding in Perth which I can't do now," Mrs Wills said.
She said a lot of people had postponed their weddings and were rebooking for early next year.
"I have had half a dozen postponements, a lot of people have rescheduled for March next year," Mrs Wills said.
"I have a lot of weddings coming up in October and November, I don't know yet if those will be affected.
"I have done a few weddings with five people because at the end of the day they just wanted to be married."
Barangaroo Wines manager Sheila McClure said weddings during the COVID-19 pandemic were popular "among locals".
"We haven't been affected by the Melbourne lockdown because Melburnians mainly venture to the Halls Gap area," Mrs McClure said.
"We have small weddings booked for the next few weekends.
"We normally don't have weddings in winter time but a lot locals don't want to wait."
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