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Real Weddings

By Paige Bitter
Photography by Genesis Photography

When Beth Canales logged onto the Internet on January 11, 2002, she had no idea that she was about to meet her soul mate. Yet hundreds of miles away, Erik Coignard was accessing the very same Christian chat room, and that night, they met.

“It was instant attraction,” Beth says of that fateful night. “One week later, we met in San Antonio.”

At the time, Erik lived in Houston and Beth in Uvalde, so both made the trip to San Antonio. And both were as excited to meet in person as they had been online.

“I remember we were standing on the roof of the Homewood Suites Riverwalk hotel talking,” Beth says. “I was feeling that this was right – we fit together – but I still said a silent prayer to God to help me know for sure. Then I looked over the rooftop – even though I’m terrified of heights – and I saw flowers planted in an arrangement of a heart. And I knew.”

The next day Erik and Beth again met on the rooftop, and as they were talking, they spotted Marriage Island. “We both thought it looked like the perfect place to marry – so simple and with such natural beauty,” Beth says.

As the relationship progressed, Beth and Erik decided to move their families to San Antonio. “We both loved the city and its offerings, from education to culture to celebrations,” she says. “It seemed like the ideal place for us.”

Then on June 22, as they rode in a horse-drawn carriage downtown, Erik proposed. “It was so beautiful,” Beth says. “We both cried, and even the driver was touched by it – it was amazing.”

The Wedding

“We of course knew that we had to marry on Marriage Island,” Beth says of the oak-shaded island known officially as the Padre Massanct’s Island and separated from the mainland by a small step. “At first, we wanted to plan a big wedding, but the more we discussed it, the more we decided an intimate affair would better suit us, and Marriage Island was perfect for that.”

And on September 20, 2002, Beth and Erik wed on the small Riverwalk oasis. “I held a beautiful bouquet of long-stemmed ecru roses wrapped with satin ribbon,” Beth explains. “The rest of our décor was given to us by God…the river, the trees, and the beautiful night. It was such wonderful scenery.”

Richard Boothe, owner of Genesis Photography, captured their wedding moments as Senior Pastor Jim D. Rion married them. After their intimate ceremony, they celebrated their nuptials at home with a small Italian crème wedding cake and a bottle of sparkling apple cider. Erik then presented Beth with a beautiful letter and necklace, letting her know how much he loved her.

“The gift was an Indian necklace that I had admired forever, and somehow he knew how much I loved it,” Beth says. “It just took my breath away.”

The couple plan to honeymoon on their one-year anniversary at Avalon Castle in New Braunfels. Until then, they are enjoying themselves as newlyweds and settling into life in San Antonio with their children. “We look at each other and just smile all the time,” Beth says of their new life together. “We truly couldn’t be happier.”