Captain Sandy Yawn and Leah Shafer. Fred Jagueneau/Bravo
Bravo offered a glimpse into Captain Sandy Yawn and Leah Shafer‘s wedding — but did you catch all those Below Deck alum cameos?
During the season 9 finale of Below Deck Mediterranean, which aired on Monday, September 23, Sandy, 59, proposed to Leah, 50, as the charter came to an end. The epilogue fast forwarded eight months after their engagement to their wedding, which featured several familiar faces.
Chef Dave White, who appeared on season 7 of Below Deck Med, was seen cooking up a storm in the kitchen. Chief stews Kate Chastain and Aesha Scott were also invited as guests and fans even caught a glimpse of Norma a.k.a the person in charge of yacht crew placement who Sandy has texted when she needed new crew members.
While getting married on a boat, Sandy and Leah got emotional reading their vows in front of everyone.
“Leah baby, on November 17th 2018, we hugged for the first time and that is when I knew it was you,” Sandy said while Leah added, “Whether we have one day or a hundred years, I am so grateful that I am experiencing love that I never thought I would have.”
The episode ended with guests — such as Kate, 41, and Aesha — delivering speeches to the happy couple.
“Thank you so much for including me. I am so happy to celebrate what is truly a celebration of love,” Kate gushed. “You give love to everyone you meet.”
Meanwhile in Aesha’s speech, she reminded Sandy and Leah to “hold and cherish” their “pure and beautiful” love. Sandy reflected on the festivities in a confessional as she said, “Whether it is on land or on a boat, I am going to spend the rest of my life loving Leah.”
Sandy and Leah met in 2018 and dated for several years before getting engaged on screen. Ahead of her romance with Sandy, Leah was married to entertainer Ross Shafer for 20 years. They welcomed daughter Lauren before their split, who was seen in attendance at the wedding.
Earlier this year, Sandy 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 exclusively told Us Weekly in May. “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.”
The cast of Below Deck and its spinoff series will do just about anything for love … or at least to have a fun crew hookup. After seven seasons of the Bravo series — with more than 100 episodes — there have been plenty of romances to watch unfold. Add in the Below Deck Mediterranean flings and Below Deck Sailing […]
Sandy wanted to find a way to incorporate executive producer Nadine Rajabi and Vice President of Current Production for Bravo Josh Brown, adding, “[We had] Nadine there [to officiate] and Josh Brown and just people that have been in my life from NBC. 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.”
Before their big day, Sandy and Leah 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 noted. “It would have been awesome to have him there but it was really sweet — his message and his gift.”
Leah referred to Andy “so supportive” as Sandy added, “He responds to Leah’s messages. It’s really cute.”
Below Deck Mediterranean is currently streaming on Peacock.