“Start something beautiful”—a line from the Microsoft commercial that actress India Dupré was rehearsing—went from dialogue to prophecy when first assistant director Leander Rappmann, from the German film crew, glanced up at the onset monitor. “I saw her and fell for her immediately,” he says.

Leander asked India to show him around Los Angeles. “Although I knew it was silly because he was leaving, I fell in love that first day,” says India, who is also a singer and songwriter. When he was gone, Leander sent her gifts from India, Japan and other filming locations.

They spoke on the phone for months until the show she was in wrapped and she was able to head for Germany. “When I saw him again, he was so good looking that I was a wreck,” says India. Eventually, he gave up his job in Germany, sold his possessions and moved to Los Angeles, bringing only his departed mother’s ring with him.

One overcast day the couple took a boat to Anacapa Island off the coast of California. Leander prepared a picnic with champagne and carried a blanket. “It was like we had the whole island to ourselves,” says India. High on a cliff’s edge, he got down on both knees and asked her to marry him. She made him repeat the question just to hear him say it again. When she answered “Yes,” his relief was genuine.

India had once visited the sun-washed Greek Isle of Santorini and fantasized about getting married there. With friends and family spread from the USA to Germany and Australia, it was the perfect spot. But first, the couple decided to legalize their union in the United States.

Without telling a soul except for college friend and photographer Dana Hargitay, India and Leander headed to Las Vegas on a 24-hour mission that they commenced by exchanging vows that they wrote to each other at a local town hall. “We wanted to commemorate our private event,” says India, so Hargitay met them in the pre-dawn darkness of Death Valley. India donned a Vera Wang gown that a friend gave her and Leander cut a dashing figure in a white Hugo Boss suit and special edition Adidas sneakers. The bride slipped on cowboy boots for trekking in the sand and they ended up becoming a part of the whole look. Nearby Silver Lake provided quirky backdrops for additional pictures.

Three months later, 40 friends and family members joined India and Leander for a formal ceremony in Santorini. The group formed a procession just before sunset and walked to the earthquake-shattered ruins of a castle perched high above the village. A crowning wreath of olive leaves and gladiator sandals offset India’s Greek goddess gown designed by her mother. Leander was blindfolded to avoid seeing her and recalls that “when I saw her appear she was stunning. I was amazed by her smile and beauty and the romance of it all,” he says.

The reception was held at local Greek restaurant, Finikia, and included baked feta with honey crust, bourekakia, salad with pomegranate, and turkey with coconut sauce. Place cards were tied to small bottles of ouzo with raffia and bougainvillea decorated the room.

The entire wedding party stayed the week in the beautiful setting. So, instead of a traditional honeymoon, five days later India and Leander escaped for several hours to a secluded beach on a neighboring island where they relaxed, reflected on the wedding and dreamed up plans for their future together.

Written by Francine Kaplan