WHILE wedding bells may be ringing for some hospitality venues around town, the slight easing of restrictions doesn't change anything for BoxGrove.
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As of Friday, September 3, wedding ceremonies are permitted to take place, but with no more than five guests allowed to attend.
That change to restrictions won't be enough for all wedding venues to be back in business as the small number allowed to attend won't be financially viable for some.
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Given that functions at BoxGrove range from 120 to 190 guests, part-owner Ben Fry said they will remain closed until their events can return to normal.
"We haven't had a wedding in months ... this year we've had cancellation after postponement after cancellation," he said.
"We're really looking forward to next year."
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The majority of BoxGrove's business is reliant on Sydneysiders making the trip over the Blue Mountains.
Hence, the wedding and events business is not only waiting for Bathurst's restrictions to ease, but Sydney's as well.
"While we are really, really desperate to get back into business, we want to do so in a safe way and we don't see that being possible until we get our vaccination rate up," Mr Fry said.
"Ninety per cent of our weddings are from Sydney and even local guests who are having weddings at our place have guests from Sydney as well, so essentially our whole business relies on Sydney guys getting out of lockdown."
While Mr Fry expects they will be one of the last hospitality businesses to resume work as normal, he encourages locals to support the businesses that are still running.
On average, BoxGrove would bring 150 people each week to Bathurst and it's the businesses still operating that continue to promote Bathurst, he said.
"Support those businesses that can still operate at the moment because they show off our region and they add to our experience," Mr Fry said.
Under the NSW Government's new rules for weddings, no receptions are allowed to follow the ceremony.
No more than 11 people can attend a wedding service; this includes the two people getting married and their two witnesses, the celebrant or officiant, someone recording the wedding and a maximum of five guests.