How DISC Personality Type is Reflected in a Couple’s Wedding

Summertime is the biggest time of the year for weddings. When the calendar rolls around to June, the flowers have bloomed, the grass is green, and eager brides and grooms are busy making plans for the future. Before they say “I Do,” though, there are a lot of decisions that need to be made. Will the wedding be traditional? Eclectic? Who will be in the wedding party? What will the dress look like? By looking at the four DISC personality types, it’s easy to see that the way a person plans and envisions their wedding says a lot about who they are.

Personality Type D: The No-Nonsense Wedding

A D-style bride, enlisting family and friends to bring her vision to life.

The D personality is direct and decisive. When a person with a D-style personality gets married, their wedding will reflect the same take-charge attitude that a D projects in their daily lives. A D will take control of wedding planning immediately and with great enthusiasm, making decisions swiftly and efficiently. It’s not in the nature of an individual with a D personality to agonize about decisions, so the planning process will move forward quickly.

When a D plans a wedding, they enter into the process with a very clear idea of what they want the ceremony to look like and how they want things to run. They will do everything in their power to make sure that their big day matches their vision. A D can sometimes be a bit competitive, so when a D personality plans a wedding they need to make a conscious effort not to go overboard and over budget in an effort to have the biggest or best wedding.  A D is also very good at delegating tasks, so they are also likely to use the services of a wedding planner to enact the minute details that make the big picture come to life.

A D personality likes to challenge the status quo, so D-style weddings will frequently disregard wedding “rules” that don’t make sense to the bride and groom. D-style weddings are often modern and chic, warm and relaxed. When things don’t go according to plan during the ceremony or reception, a D can take action and solve problems immediately and effectively. However, the stress of the day can sometimes make the aggressive side of their personality come out. When D-style bride or grooms start to see the wedding they had envisioned not going according to plan, they can sometimes explode under pressure, barking orders and becoming confrontational with individuals they see as the source of the problem. (As is the premise of pretty much every single episode of the show Bridezillas.)

Personality Type I: The Fun Wedding

For an I style bride and groom, it’s all about the party.

The I personality is fun, creative, and outgoing. If you get invited to an I-style wedding, the event is sure to be energetic and entertaining. For an I, having fun is the #1 priority (after getting married, of course). An open bar, a reception with dancing until the wee hours of the morning, and a large crowd of enthusiastic partygoers are all hallmarks of an I personality’s wedding. It’s very common for brides and grooms with an I personality to put more energy into planning the reception than the ceremony itself. They want to celebrate getting married in front of all of their friends and family (usually including a huge number of bridesmaids and groomsmen), and want their wedding to be more of a party than a traditional affair.

Non-traditional elements such as creative settings, themes, or ceremonies performed by friends or family members are often incorporated into an I-style wedding. Brides and grooms with an I personality are also typically laid back about the planning process, and tend not to want to overthink the details. In fact, I-style personalities dislike intense planning so much that they are the personality type most likely to elope or fly all of their friends to Vegas for a no-planning-required ceremony hosted by an Elvis impersonator.

That said, people with an I-style personality like to be the focus of the party. The I-style bride will typically choose an eye-catching dress, one that clearly puts her at the center of attention. (Think short, sparkly, low-cut, or an unusual color.) If you get invited to an I-style wedding, brace yourself. It’s going to be one heck of a party.

Personality Type S: The Traditional Wedding

Tradition and family are very important to the S personality.

An S personality is steady and consistent, someone who dislikes change and embraces tradition. When an S plans a wedding, ritual and convention are very important. An S wedding will often be held in a church, complete with the bride wearing a traditional white dress, layers of crinoline, a veil, and train. S-style brides and grooms are collaborative by nature. They will involve family and friends in the planning process, and are happy to let others weigh in on major decisions.

The planning process for an S-style wedding is typically very straightforward, since they will be following a time-tested pattern. An S-style bride and groom won’t try to reinvent wedding conventions-- They embrace them. The unity candle, receiving line, cake cutting ceremony, garter toss, the throwing of the bouquet and all of the other elements that have become a part of wedding tradition will typically make an appearance at an S-style wedding. Although the bride and groom might not be extremely rigid about practicing every single bridal tradition, most are very important to them. Sentimental touches are often a part of S personality’s wedding, incorporating family heirlooms such as their mother’s wedding dress, their grandfather’s cufflinks, or a slideshow of important moments from their lives.

When an S gets married, the reception afterward will be elegant and classic. An S-style bride and groom will think of tradition when planning their wedding, but they will also think about others. Personal relationships and the happiness of friends and family are important to an S. An S will go out of their way to make sure that everyone at the wedding is happy and feels valued as a part of their special day. They will often give family members special jobs (usher, guest book attendant), hand out personalized party favor bags, and will show great concern for the comfort of others.

Personality Type C: The Organized Wedding

A bride with a C personality, checking the first 15 things off her to-do list.

If you’re at a wedding where everything is meticulously planned, you’re at a C’s wedding. A C personality is conscientious and correct. When planning a wedding, their first priority is to make sure that all of the decisions that need to be made are given careful consideration. They will book tastings from five different caterers before choosing the one they like best, and take tours of a dozen different venues before booking their dates. A C personality takes the wedding planning process very seriously. They have created a strict budget, read all of the bridal magazine and wedding planning books, and know all the right questions to ask of the vendors. They will make elaborate lists, planning every detail themselves from the seating chart to the DJ’s playlist.

A C likes to plan ahead, and the planning comes easily to them. A C likes to take their time with major decisions, which can sometimes slow down the planning process down to a crawl. By the time the wedding rolls around, though, all of the details have been checked and re-checked to make sure that everything will run perfectly and according to plan. A C knows everything that might go wrong, and has planned every detail to make sure that things go off without a hitch.

A C personality can also be a stickler for quality, and wants their wedding to be perfect. A C is very critical, and will take it personally if the flowers don’t arrive on time, or if the servers run out of cake plates. This can become a problem—A C can forget to relax and enjoy themselves when they are too busy overseeing all of the wedding details and obsessing over every tiny problem. A C personality is never perfect enough to match their own standards.

If you find yourself at a wedding this summer, pay attention to the details. Odds are that you’ll find a great deal of the couple’s DISC personality traits reflected in the wedding.