JoAnn Medrano was working as a cocktail waitress when one of her customers, Pablo Medrano, caught her eye. Pablo was just as intrigued by her and left her his phone number, which JoAnn accidentally threw out. "My friend said that if he came back, it was meant to be." He did, and it was.

But making their way to the altar took a little longer than they had planned -- three and a half years to be exact. Shortly after becoming engaged, the couple discovered that they were expecting their first child together (JoAnn has a son from a previous relationship, and Pablo has three), so they postponed the wedding until after the baby's birth. Just when they were ready to resume their plans, they learned that baby number six was on the way. "After two children, in addition to the four we both had, we said, 'Enough! We need to be married!'" explains the bride.

They finally picked a date in March 2007 and were fortunate to find that all their preferred vendors were available, particularly the newly renovated US Grant hotel in downtown San Diego. The couple adored the hotel's Celestial Ballroom, whose Art Deco style (it was once a speak-easy) and sense of grandeur was quite fitting for the long-anticipated celebration. With the assistance of wedding coordinator Victoria Schroeder of Coronado Weddings, the couple designed a look for the event that took advantage of the hotel's supremely elegant architecture.

The ornate ceremony room was fully draped in white diaphanous fabric to offset the checkered marble floor. Glowing candles and enormous crystal chandeliers lit the way as the couple's children, acting as junior groomsmen, ring bearer, and flower girl, made their way down the aisle to the sound of a Spanish guitar. JoAnn and Pablo exchanged vows during a bilingual (Spanish and English) ceremony that was set against an oversized fireplace flanked by two spherical arrangements of white roses.

A mariachi band welcomed guests to the reception, which took place beneath the curved ceiling of the ballroom. Different shaped tables were dressed in rich tones of chocolate brown and copper and accented by various centerpieces in shades of white. On some tables, tall arrangements of bowing calla lilies mimicked the archways above, while on others, duplicates of the spherical arrangements of roses first seen at the ceremony were hung with glass votive candles and anchored in boxes of fluffy hydrangea. Glittering copper chargers topped with silk shantung napkins were arranged at each place setting, and dramatic lighting treatments enhanced the unique space with colorful effects. "Victoria understood my vision from the start, pulled it all together, and created an amazing room," admits the bride.

After a dinner of Caesar salad with brioche croutons and white anchovies, grilled filet of beef, and seared sea bass, the group -- including the newlyweds -- was treated to surprise entertainment arranged by Wayne Foster Entertainment. Stars of the television show So You Think You Can Dance performed a lively salsa routine that inspired the crowd. "It was a great touch and got all of the guests moving to the dance floor," remembers JoAnn.

The wedding cake was an all-white, four-tiered design draped with swags of fondant and sugar flowers and presented atop a petal-covered table. In addition to enjoying this cake during the reception, guests were also given miniature Godiva chocolate wedding cakes filled with chocolate ganache for the journey home. As for the newlyweds, it was off to Mexico (after securing the requisite childcare!) to enjoy a well-deserved honeymoon together in Cancun.