AceShowbiz -

Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz would become the next celebrity couple to marry later this year, should reports on the media outlets are to be believed. It's been claimed that Bardem has proposed to Cruz during a recent romantic vacation in France and they have been busy planning a wedding since then.

Bardem and Cruz's romance was first exposed in October 2007 when they were spotted "very touchy-feely" at the New York film festival early that month. "They held hands when they thought no one was watching, and she kissed his cheek, and he put his arm around her," a witness said at that time.

Concerning the wedding talk, Bardem allegedly popped the question to the movie beauty after being encouraged by his mother, Pilar, to make their relationship official. "Pilar took her son aside and told him, 'What's the matter with you? She's perfect! You love her, she loves you. Get married,'" a source informs the National Enquirer.

Bardem and Cruz were co-stars in the 1992 film "Jamon, jamon." They as well are co-stars in Woody Allen's upcoming comedy-drama-romance flick "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" which is expected to be released later this year.