Elopement vs Micro Wedding [best in southern minnesota]

In the world of weddings, one of the hottest trends currently are smaller scale, micro weddings.

According to Rocky Mountain Bride,

“Because of the uptick in popularity of microweddings, there are now venues specifically designed to handle smaller ceremonies. As we continue to step away from large traditional weddings, microweddings are expected to increase in popularity as one of the preferred wedding styles.”

— Rocky Mountain Bride

And even prior to creating Second Story, the Thyme on Main buildings had everything to offer for the special day in an intimate wedding setting.

What is a Micro Wedding?

No longer is everyone interested in a big wedding and traditional wedding day elements.

Instead, people everywhere are choosing fewer guests, smaller weddings, and a more meaningful day to make the love story complete.

Welcome to the micro wedding and new way to approach the big day.

Here are some general traits of a micro wedding:

• Small wedding, intimate ceremony

• A smaller guest count, typically 50 people or fewer

• Can feel just as extravagant, but within a reasonable wedding budget

• Far less stress; more relaxing environment

• Ability to have traditional elements, but with smaller budgets

• An intimate celebration after the vows have been exchanged via the wedding ceremony (or even city hall!)

• A wedding experience you can customize far easier

• Smaller venues

• Unique experiences for Bride and Groom and wedding guests

The Leading Event Space in Southern Minnesota for Your Micro Wedding

Thyme on Main is Southern Minnesota's best-kept wedding venue for a smaller guest list.

And because we have a space for almost all wedding plans, having your minimony wedding with us makes the planning process seamless. 

While many will choose Second Story as their venue for the entire day (due to the open-air Rooftop addition!), there are all of THESE spaces to consider for various wedding types and for any specific focus of the day.

Different Ways Thyme on Main Can Elevate Your Day

In addition to providing you dream wedding spaces for family members and closest friends, we also have the following capabilities:

1. Catering an intimate dinner

2. Offering a full bar (or NA beverages) for guests

3. Providing suggestions of various wedding vendors: wedding cakes, flowers, photographers, and more

4. Full decorating options to make the look and feel of all types of weddings come alive

5. Capabilities to create your digital RSVP wedding website

6. Creating your wedding stationary: invitations; print or digital, save-the-dates

7. Providing a unique "Wedding Guestbook" option 

8. Candid images + videos from the day that you can use after the big day for social media, digital scrapbooks, and more

9. Wedding favors and gifts for guests

Elopement vs Micro Wedding

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Moving on.....when it comes to the topic of a smaller guests list, elopement and micro weddings are the two that are most commonly thought of.

But they are not the same (obviously), and here are the key differences:

1. While a micro wedding still has smaller guests list, they are still larger (up to 50 people) than elopement weddings (typically just a few guests - if that - plus whoever might be there to document the wedding; photographer, videographer, etc.).

2. The microwedding is somewhere in between an elopement and traditional wedding.

3. A microwedding still contains some structure and plan; just smaller guest lists.

4. An elopement is typically a destination; even an adventure elopement of sorts. 

5. The elopement wedding is typically shorter; whereas a micro type of wedding can be similar in length and activity to that of a more traditional wedding.

6. Elopements can happen anywhere you desire (even a National Parks can be a hot spot), whereas "for micro-weddings, you can’t set up an altar, chairs and a dining area anywhere you want, so you’ll need a definitive wedding venue or even an Airbnb that allows for small gatherings." (source)

But one thing that is the same for both the elopement and micro wedding is that they both provide a great option for slimming down insane costs that are typically associated with weddings. 

The Knot reported that the national average cost of a wedding in 2023 was $35,000, which is an increase of $5,000 from the year prior.

And even if we don't accept that amount in the state of Minnesota, Fidelity estimates $25,377 for the cost of a wedding in the great state of Minnesota.

And of that, the largest portion goes to wedding venues.

At the end of the day, spending $7,000 - $25,000 on the wedding venue alone seems outrageous to us!

So we made sure we could provide one of the coolest experiences for a whole lot less.

Micro Wedding

Before we launched Second Story​, we were already hosting various micro-wedding activities at Thyme on Main. 

Honestly?

We simply didn't realize just how much the spaces would be used as such.

We've hosted the Groom getting ready in The Smith's Room.

And entire Bridal parties using The Studio for hair, makeup, photos, and more.

Brides have used The Studio and The Event for bridal showers.

Entire wedding parties have used The Event for the Groom's Dinner.

And honestly? We have even hosted an entire wedding from start-to-finish, utilizing:

1. The Studio: for Bridal party

2. AirBnB's: Groom's den

3. The Event: ceremony

4. Refinery 507: reception + dance

5. AirBnB's: honeymoon suite + guest accommodations

6. The Studio: gift opening the next morning

AND NOW?!nWe’re READY in Second Story

Second Story is ready to host all all aspects of your wedding day!

Here’s a sneak peek of all the wonder, joy, and delight you can experience…..

Elopement Wedding

Once the married couple comes home from their destination elopement, we have helped with smaller-scale celebrations. 

A lot of couples will choose to head off into the abyss, alone, and then return so we can host the casual party.

The great thing about this, within any of the spaces at Thyme on Main, is that you can simply rent any space desired and bring in your own food and/or caterer (if desired).

At Thyme on Main, we only have to supply the alcohol.

This flexibility is one of the main reasons people choose us time-and-time again.

We made it all simple so that you could make it exactly yours.

So if you're looking for Southern Minnesota wedding venues today, the bottom line is we can't wait to help to see your magical day come alive!

p.s. And what comes after the wedding? Right. The baby. So we enjoy hosting baby showers, too. But we'll save that for another time :)