An enterprising mom flew her daughter’s six hours to crash a stranger’s wedding — to try and find them dates.
Leala Hewak, 60, managed to get an invite for her and her daughters — Estée Katz, 27, and Sophia Katz, 30 — to attend the do in Mexico City.
The graphic novelist and actor had been talking to the stranger on a group chat for her art project and had discovered he was getting married in two weeks and had “lots of handsome cousins”.
Leala mentioned her “beautiful single daughters” and ended up being invited along — helping cover the costs of Estée’s flight from Montreal, Canada, and Sophia’s from California, US, in January 2025.
Estée and Sophia, a musician, didn’t end up finding their dream man but say it was a “beautiful” night.
Estée, a part-time social media content creator, from Montreal, Canada, said: “She’s a very involved mom.
“She’s forward. She’s interested in our happiness and finding partners for us one day. There were some guys I thought were cute but it didn’t happen. We danced a lot,” she recounted.
“If there is an opportunity that comes to you and you’re able to do it, go for it,” she said.
Leala got chatting to a man from Mexico City after being put into an artsy group chat for her recent portrait project.
The “forward” mum didn’t hold back and asking if the stranger was single — as she’s always on the lookout for a potential partner for her daughters.
Estée said: “She asked him ‘are you single because I have these two daughters?’.
“He said ‘I’m getting married in two weeks’. But said he has a lot of handsome Jewish cousins,” she recounted to a reporter.
“She always sends me photos of guys – they are usually not my type but she sent some photos of these guys and I thought they were cute. Ten minutes later she called me and said we might be able to go to a wedding.”
The stranger invited Leala and her daughters to the wedding and Leala had to say yes.
The family, along with stepdad, Donald Hewak, 61, an artist, decided to make a holiday of it and Leala helped Estée and Sophia out with their flights.
Estée said: “My mum is very generous and helped us there. This is a vacation to me — we were going to have fun. It’s a nice opportunity.”
Estée flew from Montreal to Mexico City — on a six hour flight — while her mum flew from Toronto and Sophia headed over from California.
The family were able to go to the wedding and reception.
Estée said: “We stayed for a good part of the evening. It was beautiful. I’ve never been to a Mexican, Jewish wedding. It was a really interesting mix of culture. They all looked so happy.”
The family stayed in Mexico City for a week to make a holiday of it.
Estée said: “We like to just have fun. We like to live life. It’s very spontaneous but it’s a typical story for my mum.”
Follow Estée on Instagram and TikTok @esteeisonline
