The paparazzi and fans gathered outside Mortons restaurant in Los Angeles on Aug. 18 couldn't see the secretive party taking place inside amid tight security. But they could hear it. After dining on sea bass, steak and chocolate cake, Jennifer Lopez, her beau of several months, Cris Judd, and about 100 pals danced until 2 a.m. to a deejay's salsa, R&B and rap mix. By the time the beaming couple smooched, bid goodbye and dashed into a waiting Bentley, it was clear to all—inside and out—that Lopez and Judd, both 32, had finally decided to make some noise about the news they've kept to themselves for months: They're altar-bound.

Judd, who first performed with Lopez in her video "Love Don't Cost a Thing" last November, gave her a diamond engagement ring in late May—though Lopez later played it coy. "Wait and see," she told Today's Matt Lauer in July when he asked about the couple's status. Now sources say Lopez and Judd are planning a wedding this fall (his first, her second—her 1997 marriage to Miami waiter Ojani Noa ended in divorce after a year). "I don't think it'll be one of those Hollywood monster weddings," says her friend, hairstylist Oribe. "It is going to be a bunch of friends and a lot of family."

That's fine with the low-key Judd, who introduced the former club-hopping girlfriend of Sean "Puffy" Combs to more sedate pursuits, including watching golf on TV. "Jennifer, of course, wants to jazz the golfers' outfits up a little bit," says Oribe. On the set of her thriller Enough in L.A. this spring, "there was a lot of snuggling between takes," says producer Rob Cowan. "She just seems really settled. You can just tell she is really happy."

Then again, what effect would you expect from a guy who hails from a town called Niceville, Fla.? In the egg roll restaurant that his parents Larry, an Air Force retiree, and Violeta own there, the walls are covered with photos of only child Cris with such stars as Lopez, Michael Jackson and Celine Dion. Few in Niceville would have predicted Judd's career—or his romance. Born with a club foot, the star golfer at Niceville High "always dated strait-laced girls, the girls who buttoned their shirts all the way to the top," says classmate Melissa Dowd Roberts. After copying moves from MTV for years, Judd quit community college to work as a dancer at the Disney resort Pleasure Island before moving to L.A.

Lopez hit it off with his parents, who flew to L.A. to meet her in May. (She and Judd have been living in hotels while her L.A. house is being renovated.) "She's as down-to-earth as you could ever imagine," says Larry, who received a gift of a Chihuahua named Angel from his future daughter-in-law. He and Violeta may have to wait a little longer for grandkids: Lopez has denied recent reports that she is pregnant. Still, Judd's presence is already inducing one major mood swing. Says Oribe: "She is always smiling in the morning."

Samantha Miller
Marisa Laudadio, Michelle Caruso and Frank Swertlow in Los Angeles, Steve Helling in Niceville, Linda Trischitta in Miami and Rebecca Paley in New York City

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