Plot

For his latest column in USA Today, Ike Graham writes about Maggie, who always leaves all her fiances standing at the altar. He is fired as she complains to the newspaper for inaccuracies in her story.

New York columnist Ike Graham elaborates, for once without full-fact checking, the story he heard from a bar-mate about small-town Maryland girl Maggie Carpenter, who left several grooms at the altar, taking off without warning or serious reason. Fearing a legal case from Maggie, Ike's editor and ex Ellie fires him. Staff buddy Fisher cues Ike to seek his job back (or earn another) by attempting to prove the alleged inaccuracies and/or writing a priceless follow-up piece. So his sports-car heads for her home in Hale, Maryland, where she runs a garage and designs glassware. His charm and journalistic nose get everyone to open up and reveal her embarrassing past before she can swear people to silence, from her family and three dumped grooms to her overconfident present groom, high-school coach Bob Kelly. In the process, Maggie finds hating Ike tempting but difficult, while Ike develops a strange appreciation for the maverick, until even Bob sees reason to get jealous.—KGF Vissers

Ike Graham has his own by-lined column in USA Today, which he usually uses as a forum to rail against the opposite sex. For his latest column which he writes at the last minute as usual, he, based on some information from a stranger in a bar about a woman he knows of back home, includes the story of still single Hale, Maryland residing Maggie Carpenter, who is known as the "Runaway Bride" since she has been engaged multiple times, but always leaves her betrothed standing at the altar. Because an incensed Maggie complains to the newspaper for factual inaccuracies in her story, Ike is fired, but he realizes that the story still has some life in it and thus decides to go to Hale to do further investigation. He finds that Maggie is again engaged, now for the fourth time, this time to high school football coach and adventurist Bob Kelly, who is confident enough in himself to know he will be different than the previous three grooms. When Maggie finds out that her arch enemy Ike is in town, Maggie and Ike begin a battle of outdoing the other, Maggie in an effort to get back at the man who ruined her reputation nationally, and Ike to expose Maggie for the self-absorbed man-hater he believes she is. The problem for Maggie is that many in Hale, including her family and Bob, actually seem to like Ike. So Maggie ends up taking a different approach in giving Ike the full story for a price. In doing so, Maggie comes to an understanding of who she is as a person. Both Ike and Maggie also begin to understand why Maggie has left her previous grooms at the altar - Ike's understanding with a little help from his ex-wife with who he has a complex relationship - and what each is looking for in a loving relationship. But are Maggie's understanding and wants and Ike's understanding and wants the same?—Huggo

New York columnist Ike Graham always writes his columns at the last minute. This time, a drunken man in his favorite bar tells him about Maggie Carpenter, a woman who always flees from her grooms at the last possible moment. Ike, who hasn't the best opinion of females anyway, writes an offensive column without researching the subject thoroughly. The next day, Ike is fired by his publisher and ex-wife because he went too far and faked the facts, which genuine journalists never do. His only way back into the business now is to do a fact-based report on Maggie and her upcoming fourth wedding attempt, which Ike predicts to fail again. As he circles her like a vulture, his prey-to-be's opinion of him sinks below zero. Not only is Ike waiting for Maggie to fail again, but the whole town is poking fun at her about her mistakes. But that is a point which Ike doesn't like.—Julian Reischl <julianreischl@mac.com>

Maggie Carpenter (Julia Roberts) is a spirited and attractive young woman who has had a number of unsuccessful relationships. Maggie, nervous of being married, has left a trail of fiance's. It seems, she's left three men waiting for her at the altar on their wedding day (all of runaway attempts are caught on tape), receiving tabloid fame and the dubious nickname "The Runaway Bride".

Meanwhile, in New York, reporter Homer Eisenhower Graham or "Ike" (Richard Gere), writes a column about her that contains several factual errors, supplied to him by the third of Maggie's jilted exes George "Bug Guy" Swilling (Reg Rogers) for revenge. Maggie reads the article in her hometown and is livid. She shoots off a letter to the editor of the paper Ellie (Rita Wilson) complaining that the article is factually incorrect. Ellie is Ike's former wife and is now married to Ike's boss Fisher. Ike is fired for not verifying his source. Later, Ike's boss Fisher (Héctor Elizondo) offers him a chance to restore his reputation by writing an in-depth, truthful article about Maggie, if only to prove that she is indeed the heartless "man-eater" he claimed her to be.

Ike then decides to write an in-depth article about Maggie in a bid to get his job back. He travels to Hale, Maryland, where he finds her living with her family and on her fourth attempt to become married. Maggie runs a hardware store in town. Peggy Flemming (Joan Cusack) is Maggie's best friend. The store is owned by Maggie's father Walter (Paul Dooley).

The fourth groom-to-be, Bob Kelly (Christopher Meloni), a football coach at the local high school who treats Maggie like one of the players on his sports team. Bob Kelly speaks in constant sports analogies and has been working with Maggie to help her "visualize" the wedding. Ike meets Maggie and tells her that he believes that she is going to run out on Bob just as she did on her first three fiance's. Ike says that he will not leave town until she does. Ike befriends Maggie's family to her annoyance.

Walter lends Ike the wedding tapes. Ike is able to see how Maggie left "Dead Head" Gill Chavez (Yul Vazquez), the first groom who was a musician and a car mechanic, Father Brian Norris (Donal Logue), the 2nd groom who later became a priest and then George, the third groom.

While doing research for his story, Ike follows Maggie around town, much to her annoyance, and speaks with her friends, family, and former fiance's, all of whom are happy to share their thoughts. Fed up with his intrusiveness, Maggie offers him the opportunity to spend time with her one-on-one and see for himself that she is not a bad person. During this period, Ike and Maggie grow closer, each using the other's feedback to make improvements in their personal lives. Ike learns that Maggie used to date Peggy's husband Corey, before Peggy and Corey got married. Peggy is a bit irritated that Maggie and Corey are friends even to this day. Maggie speaks to Peggy and understands her feelings. Peggy says that Maggie tries to project herself as mysterious and wanting protection from a man.

As Ike research Maggie's history, he discovers that she adopts the interests of each of her fiance's, signified most prominently by her choice of eggs. She simply repeats Bob's order at the diner of omelet with egg whites. While George claimed that Maggie liked poached eggs, just like him. Gill believes that Maggie got a tattoo at a concert but turns out it was only a stick on as Maggie is afraid of needles. Ike learns that Maggie designs unique lamps from discarded hardware parts. Ike finds himself getting attracted towards Maggie.

At a Pre-wedding luau celebration, he defends Maggie from the public mockery she receives at a roast from her family and guests, causing her to leave the room in embarrassment. Ike confronts Maggie outside and accuses her of not truly knowing herself and just adjusting her thoughts to what others expect from her; she in turn calls him out for his cynicism, suggesting he uses his column to mock the lives of others because he is too afraid to pursue a meaningful life for himself.

In the middle of the wedding rehearsal, Bob helps walk Maggie down the aisle, and asks Ike to stand in his place as the groom. This proves to be a mistake, when Ike and Maggie "practice" the kiss right in front of Bob, finally admitting their feelings for one another. As a result, Bob punches Ike in the face before storming out of the church. Soon after, Ike and Maggie agree to marry since the wedding is already set to take place.

But on the day of the wedding, Maggie gets cold feet (there was a huge media presence at the event, who were waiting with bated breath to see the outcome of Maggie's 4th attempt at a wedding), and leaves Ike, too, standing at the altar. As she rides away on a FedEx truck, Ike runs after her, but can't catch up.

Later, we see Ike living in New York and Maggie trying to discover herself, trying different types of eggs, and putting her lighting designs up for sale in New York. She shows up unexpectedly at Ike's apartment one night where he finds her making friends with his cat, Italics. Maggie then explains that she's been running because every other guy she was engaged to was only engaged to the idea she had created for them rather than the real her- and when she was marrying Ike she was simply freaked out at the crowd-, and "turns in" her running shoes just before proposing to Ike.

The two are married in a private ceremony outside, on a hill, avoiding the big ceremonies that drove Maggie away in the past. In the end, they are shown riding away on horseback while everyone celebrates the fact that Maggie finally got married.