Captian Sandy Yawn.Photo:Polk/Bravo via Getty
Polk/Bravo via Getty
CaptainSandy Yawnwill soon set sail on a new adventure — married life!While appearing atBravoCon 2023in Las Vegas, theBelow Deck Mediterraneanstar dished to PEOPLE about her upcoming “I dos” to partnerLeah Shafer, admitting she’s keeping out of the arrangements.
“The wedding planning is all on Leah’s lap,” Yawn says. “She’s figuring it all out, thank God — the location, the flower arrangements, all of it.”
Captain Sandy Yawn.Polk/Bravo via Getty
That makes narrowing down the guest list that much easier. “We can only have 55 people,” Yawn said. “She’s narrowing it down.”
Shafer’s also in charge of what Yawn will wear — though she’s only looking at suits right now. “I will never wear a dress,” says Yawn. “Not in a million years.”
Though Shafer is doing all the work, Yawn says the experience has cemented their bond. “Leah and I couldn’t be happier or closer,” she says. “It took us to the next level. I love it.”
“It’s going to be fun,” she says. “I hope!”
Leah Shafer and Sandy Yawn.Captain Sandy Yawn/ Instagram
Captain Sandy Yawn/ Instagram
Yawn, 58, and Shafer, 50,got engaged in Septemberafter five years of dating. “It’s official! I asked Leah to marry me, and she said YESSSSS,” Yawn shared in anInstagram postat the time. “We are engaged! stay tuned for wedding 💍.”
For the yacht captain, the proposal was a long time coming. “I have been thinking about marrying Leah for years,” Yawn toldE! News. “I knew from the minute I met her, but the timing had to be right. I wanted to make sure we could truly do life together first.”
She was so excited that she jumped right in, popping the question to Shafer as soon as they arrived. “I truly could not wait!” she told the outlet. “I shared my vision list of love I had written and wanted, then got on one knee. Then, she said ‘yes!’ "
Yawn recalled being overcome with emotion upon seeing Shafer’s reaction to the surprise. “The look on her face was priceless, and my heart exploded! It was filled beyond capacity of anything I could ever imagine,” she explained. “Somehow, I feel closer than I did before, and I can’t explain it. There is an energy that I have never experienced in my life. I love her beyond; as Leah says, Yawn beyond.”
Captain Sandy Yawn and fiancée Leah Shafer.Captain Sandy Yawn/Instagram
Captain Sandy Yawn/Instagram
The pair first met on Facebook in 2018 when Shafer, a fan of Yawn’s Bravo show, reached out to the reality star.
“She sent me a nice message that said, ‘I came across your show, congratulations, many blessings,' " Yawn told E! News. The two began exchanging messages and eventually decided to meet in person in Los Angeles and immediately hit it off.
In her new book,Be the Calm or Be the Storm, Yawn reflected on how Shafer came into her life at just the right time.
“I believe God has a way of preparing you for ‘the one.’ He knew I wasn’t ready for her all those years ago. And she wasn’t ready for me,” she wrote. “God waited for us. He gave me opportunities to make different choices and be more conscious, so that when that sweet little Facebook message came across my page, I was open.”
Shafer was previously married for 20 years to Ross Shafer, with whom she shares a teenage daughter.
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BravoCon 2023 is taking place through Sunday at Caesars Forum in Las Vegas.
source: people.com
