Innisfil wedding venue set to close after summer weddings postponed and cancelled

Summer wedding season uncertain While the province's plan to reopen has given hope to many, it's leaving some businesses looking at more months of struggles.

The Ontario government's three-step reopening plan is coming a little too late for some struggling businesses.

The on-and-off-again lockdowns and restrictions on outdoor and indoor gatherings have put a strain on the wedding industry.

Since the pandemic began, Paradise Acres in Innisfil, Ont., has barely been operating as couples have cancelled their weddings and events have been postponed.

"We had one small gathering last summer. It was really sad," said Candice Cole, the wedding and event coordinator for Paradise Acres.

Since late 2018, the business has been operating out of a century-old barn on the property. Over that time, before the COVID-19 pandemic, the company was thriving, but that came to a screeching halt last spring and summer.

"We had a lot of calls asking if people could postpone their weddings that they had booked here— pretty much everyone did," said Cole.

The trend of cancellations has carried over to 2021. Cole says all but two reservations have cancelled their event— leaving her and the property owner Neil Voutt to make the difficult decision to walk away from the business.

"Honestly, I've been on CERB, luckily I qualified, and that's why I've made this hard choice to close up and focus on something else," said Cole.

According to the province's three-step reopening plan, step one will require 60 per cent of Ontario adults to be vaccinated with one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. It's expected this will be accomplished by mid-June.

In step one, outdoor gatherings are permitted for up to 10 people, and up to four people can dine outdoors.

Step two requires 70 per cent of the Ontario population vaccinated with one dose and 20 per cent with two doses.

Once accomplished, the government will allow larger outdoor gatherings for up to 25 people and five indoors. Outdoor dining will increase to six per table.

Finally, step three will come into effect if 70 to 80 per cent of Ontario adults received one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 25 per cent have received both.

The government says this step will see larger indoor and outdoor gatherings. Although, the province did not specify a limit.

It's still unclear when all of this will be accomplished, which leaves Paradise Acres and other businesses who rely on indoor and outdoor gatherings during the summer months with no set timeline for reopening.