The characters in Delta Wedding are members and relations of the Fairchild family of the Mississippi Delta.

Dabney Fairchild, the second daughter of the family, has decided to marry the family's overseer. She is marrying beneath her patrician status.

Troy is the cotton plantation overseer who is marrying Dabney Fairchild.

Ellen Fairchild is the mother of the eight Fairchild children (with one more on the way) and the current matriarch of the family. Much of the story is seen from her viewpoint.

Battle Fairchild is the current patriarch of the clan and the husband of Ellen.

Shelley is the unwed older sister of Dabney Fairchild. She keeps a journal, and is another main set of eyes through whom we see the events of the family wedding.

Uncle George is a family favorite. He also married beneath him, and his wife has recently left him.

Robbie Reid is the low-born wife of Uncle George. She leaves him just prior to the wedding of Dabney and Troy.

Laura is a young Fairchild cousin whose mother has just died. She is another observer through whom the author shows us the bustling events of the busy household.

Aunt Tempe is the blunt talker of the Fairchild family.

India is a mischievous younger Fairchild daughter.

Great Grandfather Fairchild is the pater familias of the Mississippi Fairchild's cotton plantation.