Wedding guests and staff who served them have been instructed to quarantine themselves until March 20. Wedding vendors and small businesses say they are increasingly concerned about the risk of contracting COVID-19 at weddings, where social distancing is almost impossible amid international and elderly guests, physical affection and "a lot of alcohol." "People are in denial, they think it's going to be over in a few weeks. But it's just going to get worse and worse," wedding photographer Ona Janzen said. Wedding photo by Blue Mountains based photographer Ona Janzen. Credit:Ona Janzen The Blue Mountains-based photographer said she had taken to emailing clients over the past few weeks to inform them of additional steps she would be taking if their wedding proceeded, including potentially wearing a mask and remaining one to two metres away at all times.

Loading "In the past few weeks I have had four weddings and all have had international guests, one with more than 50," she said. Ms Janzen is among more than 600 wedding photographers and videographers nationally who have joined a Facebook support group created in the wake of the virus outbreak. She said, while she and fellow photographers were relieved to see formal bans and advice around social distancing, it was still not being followed. One photographer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, shot a Sydney wedding on Thursday and said "people weren’t taking it seriously."

"[Guests] were standing close together chatting, hugging, kissing as usual ... it had a grazing table with everyone at the wedding lined up like sardines using the same tongs. A full petri dish if someone was sick," he said. Another photographer, who also requested anonymity, said she had an upcoming wedding for which the address of a property being used for pre-wedding group photographs had been changed "to accommodate a guest who had recently returned from abroad and was self-isolating." "I have a wedding coming up with 120 guests and I am really anxious, even though it has been moved to outside" said another, Sydney wedding photographer Zoe Morley. She added that she was not alone in finding venues that were attempting to "skirt around rules" by using marquees.

"One venue is going to continue holding weddings for more than 100 guests and although they are making weddings outside cocktail style, the dance floor is still inside," she said. Loading "They said that they have doors that open out 'so it's like an outdoor space,' but if all guests are dancing at the same time that will be breaking the health authorities guidelines." The banning of indoor gatherings of more than 100 people, relates to "an area, room or other premises that is or are substantially enclosed by a roof and walls, regardless of whether the roof or walls or any part of the roof or walls are, permanent or temporary, open or closed." Of the 14 weddings Ms Morley has booked to the end of May, eight have postponed, while two have said they want to proceed with more than 100 guests.