The Wedding Run

by Leanna Ellis

The Wedding Run

A sweet, small-town romantic comedy about finding love when life goes off-script.

Libby Peterson has made a career out of planning other people’s perfect days.

But on her own wedding morning, one letter—from her late mother—changes everything.

Suddenly, “happily ever after” doesn’t feel so certain.

Panicked, Libby runs... straight into Luke Maine, the best man and her ex’s infuriatingly charming friend.

He offers to help her make sense of her mother’s words—and maybe help her ex win Libby back in the process.

But when Libby learns his plan, she decides two can play that game.

Flirting with Luke starts as revenge.

Falling for him was never part of the plan. ☕

As the week unravels with meddling sisters, a town full of opinions, and one very public kiss that changes everything,

Libby discovers that sometimes love doesn’t need perfect timing—just a little courage and a whole latte faith.

A sweet, small-town, closed-door romantic comedy filled with laughter, heart, and unexpected love—perfect for fans of Courtney Walsh, Katherine Center, and Sarah Adams.

Genres: Romance, Rom Com

258 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 24, 2025

About the author

Award-winning author, Leanna Ellis, writes sweet, heartwarming romances and closed-door romantic comedies with heart, humor, and hope. With over a million books sold, Ellis has won numerous awards, including the National Readers' Choice Award. She lives in Texas with her husband where they raised their two children, who now live too far away living their dreams but apparently still like to come home, probably to visit their doodle siblings who never grow up and move away. Readers who love Hallmark-style, wholesome love stories, will love The Wedding Letter series and the coming Love Note sereies. You can find more about Ellis at leannaellis.com.

Reviews

[Lisa Morrow]

Leanna Ellis is one of my favorite authors. You'll love this rom-com. It grabbed me from the beginning and didn't let up through the whole engaging story!

[Leanna Ellis]

It's Release Day! It's finally here. So happy to bring this book into the world. And excited to see the enthusiasm for it. It's available in ebook and print on Amazon. Enjoy! And the rest of the series will be coming out this fall. Book 2 is up for a giveaway now: The Wedding Race! Go enter!


The Wedding Run Giveaway ends today! Be sure enter before it's too late! And also, keep an eye out on Friday (22nd) for Book 2 The Wedding Race Giveaway!

First Review is in: “If you enjoy clean, feel-good romances with small-town charm and fictional friends you’d love to have coffee with…this one’s for you!”
Kelli at Lemon Cottage Library


Read the EXCLUSIVE prologue, offered only to subscribers to my reader newsletter.

Want to know how it all began?

Before the runaway bride…

Before the wedding race…

Before the ruse and the gift...

There was one letter that changed everything.

Discover the heartfelt origin of the Peterson sisters’ story in The Wedding Letter: How It Began..., an exclusive prologue available only to newsletter subscribers.

https://leannaellis.substack.com


I love weddings. I guess I always have. They’re full of drama and happily-ever-afters—and, of course, cake. Add in music and laughter, and I’m all in.
In books, weddings are often “the end” of a story. But in real life, they’re just the beginning of a lifetime shared, a beginning that sometimes includes children… and eventually, more weddings.
Forgive me for getting a little serious here. You may be interested in knowing where this series idea originated. In the past few years, I’ve lost three dear friends—smart, funny, extraordinary women who passed away far too soon. They were also mothers, and they left behind grown children.
Significant losses have a way of making us think about our own lives and legacies. As a writer, I pondered what I would do if I knew my time was short. I realized I would write letters. Writing is what I do. And that idea became the heart of this series: a mother who writes letters to her young daughters, imagining the milestones she won’t be there to witness—graduations, first dates, and, yes, weddings.
Of course, because I’m me, I had to infuse humor along the way.
I loved writing about these three sisters. I understand how important sisters can be because mine is one of my closest friends. I’d be lost without her. She has supported me through many events and even in my garden, saved me (literally), almost smothered me with a pillow (I’ll have to tell you that story), and laughed with me over the years. So, it was a joy to tell Libby, Charlie, and Elle’s stories—all with a side of laughter.
I hope you enjoy their journeys… and don’t forget the novella at the end!
With love, life, and laughter (not always in that order),
Leanna

[Kelli]

I really enjoyed this book. It was such a sweet, small-town rom-com with lots of light-hearted moments and lovable characters.

Libby is a wedding planner who’s always got everyone else’s big day under control, but when it’s her own wedding day, things fall apart completely after reading a letter from her late mother. What ensues is a lot of witty banter, sisterly bonds, and a romance to make you smile.

Libby is organized, detail-oriented, and has a list for everything (a girl after my own heart). Luke is a total gentleman, opens car doors, does the dishes, and has a knack for making the people he cares about feel special. With her attention to detail and his charm, they’re the perfect match for this heartwarming love story.

There were a couple of little touches in the book that I absolutely loved. Her dad calls her Sugarbug, and I’m 100% stealing that to call my grandson. There’s also a part about how you can tell a lot about someone’s personality by the colors in their home décor—and yes, I went down a whole rabbit hole with that one.

If you enjoy clean, feel-good romances with laugh-out-loud moments, small-town charm, and fictional friends you’d want to have coffee with, this one’s worth picking up.

Thanks to Leanna Ellis for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Craig N]

I love this fun, refreshing and sweet read! It’s a good hometown story about Libby , a wedding planner , who has second thoughts and ditches her wedding day and runs into the perfect man on her way out! It’s also the deeper story of the loss of her mother, her closeness with her family, especially her sisters and her hunt for deeper meaning from a letter that her mother left her to read on her wedding day. It’s also full of humor, small town, charm, and lots of coffee! Luke, who Libby runs into on her way away from her wedding owns a coffee shop in a small town .As a coffee drinker, I love the atmosphere of the small town and the quaint coffee shop as a backdrop. This story leaves you with warm feelings, love of family and a very handsome gentleman to fall in love with! Leanna Ellis has written another charmer that you don’t want to miss.

[Malone Petersen]

This was a very sweet, cozy & charming read. What it lacked in showing on the page and in a few missing quotation marks here and there, it made up for with its characters and heart. I read the majority of this over an evening in urgent care, and it was very comforting.

I purchased this in anticipation of reading the latter 3 books in the series, which I won in a giveaway by the publisher.

[Rahil Is Booked]

this was such a light read, i enjoyed it very much!

[Jayne Butcher]

Oh, I liked this story! Libby Peterson and her two sisters Charlotte (Charlie) and Elle run a wedding planning business out of Atlanta. Elle makes the cakes and Charlie takes the pictures. Libby makes lists and handles the details. The story starts on Libby’s wedding day, as she prepares to marry Derek, a trust fund baby with excellent business sense. Her father hands her a letter that her now deceased mother wrote to be given to each bride on her wedding day. After reading it, she calls off the wedding and flees. Luke Maine is Derek’s best friend and best man. Driving back to the wedding venue after running an errand for the groom, Luke discovers Libby walking along the highway looking disheveled and muddy. He convinces her to get in the car and off they go, ending up at his parents’ house. What follows is Derek’s attempts to get her back, Luke’s attempts to be her friend without losing Derek’s friendship and financial support for his coffee shop, and Libby’s attempt to figure out what she wants in her life. This is a story filled with emotion. Although there is plenty of laughter, there is also acute sadness and some heartwrenching moments. The author does a great job of portraying Storybrook, a tiny town in North Georgia, as the perfect small town….a place full of genuine down-to-earth people who take care of each other. Luke (insert sigh here) is a fantasy come true. He’s handsome, kind, well-liked, owns his own business, lives in a cabin in the woods, has a wonderful loving family, and is slightly broken. The dynamics between the three sisters is endearing and entertaining, and their very different personalities are quite evident. You will find lots of coffee references, an all night baking fest, a sunrise wedding, and a quest to solve the mystery of a special tea bag…..and this is the first book in the series. Charlie’s story is next and I am very much looking forward to reading it.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Katja]

This is a light, easy read in which the FMC flees her wedding and the hot groomsman rescues her. (Of course he does.) There is a subplot about the FMC's grief for her dead mother but it's not an angsty story for me.
It was OK, I didn't hate it and I didn't love it.

In the end, when there is a scene that could be a grand romantic denouement, it gets a little watered down by dithering. He tells her he loves her, she doesn't respond the right way, and when he goes away she starts sobbing that it's over and she missed her chance to be with him. Girl, what nonsense is this? You know his phone number, you know where he works, you know where he lives. you can talk to him and sort it out.

Speaking of knowing, how did Luke know where to go when Derek told him they were going to a wedding?

[Dorothy Love]

This sparkling rom-com, the first in the Wedding Letter series from award-winning author Leanna Ellis has everything readers of clean romantic comedy are looking for. The sweet family dynamic amongst Libby, her sisters and their widowed dad, and a charming small-town locale make for plenty of laugh out loud, heart-warming moments.

Libby is a relatable and highly entertaining runaway bride. Her ex's best man Luke, calm and empathetic, is the perfect man for her. The fun begins when Luke offers Libby a ride as she's hiking down the road after bolting from her ceremony. Their route from a canceled-at-the-last minute wedding to happily- ever- after will leave readers eagerly anticipating the next books in the series. For readers who love books by Abby Jimenez and Katherine Center.

[LaurenB]

I found the plot synopsis of this book intriguing, but I’m not a fan of how it was written. For starters, I felt like I was dropped into the middle of the story. A little prologue to foreshadow the events to come and maybe introduce some conflict or hesitation would’ve gone a long way. I also feel like there was more telling than showing, as in we were told important things happened, but it would’ve been more effective if those scenes had been written into the story.

Overall, it wasn’t a bad little romance. Quick read and cozy setting with likable characters.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Indie]

loved it !! what a great start for this new series !! love Libby and Luke... this is their story after.... a fun fast paced wacky runaway bride with the ex best man rom/com drama... she was all ready to say "I do" until, the letter changed everything... now, on the run she runs right into the ex best man ...and so it begins... so funny !! so.... good !!!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Vicki Stephens]

The Wedding Run is a delightful romantic comedy which features wedding planner Libby who runs from her own wedding and is met by Luke, who was the best man. When Libby leaves her own wedding it is Luke who gives her a ride only for them to fall in love with each other. This enjoyable book has wonderful characters, drama, humor, witty banter, a few twists, and great writing.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[fatima˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆]

loved the small town charm, but this wasn’t my cup of tea. lots of telling rather than showing, too much dialogue, and the reason libby and luke couldn’t be together felt silly and contrived. also, the whole book takes place within the span of a week, which is crazy to me. the portrayal of libby’s grief over her mother was super touching though! cute, fluffy read - just not for me.

[Kaitlyn Raasveld]

Luke and Libby are so cute together. This book was so wholesome and just made my heart swell. I loved how it ended and it just made me truly appreciate love again. It’s a wonderful read.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Nancy Haddock]

4.5 stars I read an ebook.

Loved the characters, the setting, and the plot. Libby and Luke made a great couple, and I liked the evolution of their relationship. Lovely banter between them! I'm on to read the 3rd book!

[Laura]

Good book but I got confused with it.

[AMAO]

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