Captain Sandy Reveals Which ‘Below Deck’ Franchise Stars Attended Her Wedding to Leah Shafer
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Captain Sandy Yawn's wedding with Leah Shafer featured several Below Deck franchise stars.
During an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, Sandy, 59, discussed how she chose who to invite to her big day.
"We only had a capacity of 60 people. So with our family and our intimate friends, it was hard to invite people that we really wanted there from Bravo," she explained on Friday, May 17. "So we had the people that have been in our lives since the beginning. Because they saw me, [when] I was single when I started the show. Then everybody knows when I met Leah because that's all I talked about."
Sandy found a way to incorporate executive producer Nadine Rajabi and Vice President of Current Production for Bravo Josh Brown.
"[We had] Nadine there and Josh Brown and just people that have been in my life from NBC," she said about Nadine, who officiated her nuptials. "We really wanted people there [such as] Kate Chastain [even though] we're not in each other's lives on a daily basis. And then Aesha Scott, of course."
The captain, who joined the franchise during season 2 of Below Deck Mediterranean, noted that just because someone wasn't present didn't mean they didn't want them there, adding, "I would love to have Bugsy Drake. But we couldn't invite everyone because 60 people [was the] capacity."
Ahead of their wedding day, Sandy and Leah, 50, even received a gift from Bravo executive producer Andy Cohen.
"He was very generous — he sent us a very generous gift. He actually wanted to come. He said, 'Yes, send me the invite,'" Sandy recalled. "It would have been awesome to have him there but it was really sweet — his message and his gift."
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Leah called Andy "so supportive" before Sandy added: "He responds to Leah's messages. It's really cute."
Sandy and Leah were excited to celebrate their love with a special day after several years of dating. The couple met in 2018 when Leah reached out to the reality star on social media about her hit Bravo series.
Ahead of her romance with Sandy, Leah was married to entertainer Ross Shafer for 20 years. They welcomed daughter Lauren before their split. Sandy and Leah have documented highlights from their relationship as they prepared to tie the knot.
Sandy and Leah opened up to Us about their plans following their wedding ceremony.
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“At this stage of our lives … every moment we have together, we make it into a honeymoon,” Leah gushed. “Like, it doesn't have to be set days. Even yesterday, we're walking around Tampa and we just saw this little green two-seater boat and we're like, ‘Let's take it out.’ You know, every second is a honeymoon for us.”
She continued, “We’re just to find this kind of love at this stage in our lives and to have the acceptance by our family and friends. It really is a beautiful love story and celebration, and that's the truth.”
Leah also discussed her plans to change her last name after the nuptials. “For me, [getting married] was so surreal,” she added. “Sandy was telling everybody that she didn't realize how in marriage felt so amazing [and] to know that I'm actually going to take her name — and I'm in the midst of changing my name to Leah Rae Yawn — [and] to not be a girlfriend anymore, it just feels good to be like, ‘Wow, I'm her wife.’ When we check into a hotel, it’s like, ‘It’s the Yawn party.’ It's a really good feeling.”
With reporting by Amanda Williams
Below Deck Mediterranean premieres on Bravo on Monday, June 3, at 9 p.m. ET
