Couple chases dream wedding

Talking with Erin Scanlon and Derric Pollard is like stepping into a Disney fairy tale. The couple lovingly gazes at one another, hands intertwined, as they describe their “perfect love.”

That’s not to say they haven’t battled their wicked witches and fierce dragons.

A year before the pair met, Scanlon lost her father, revered Orange Coast College math professor Dan Scanlon, to a heart attack, and just weeks before their engagement, Pollard’s mother suffered the same fate.

“I think it’s horrible that a couple should have that kind of tragedy in common, but thank God we have each other to get through it,” Scanlon said. “Derric was a big part of fixing my heart and now I am able to be a support for him.”

Fortunately, Pollard, a 29-year-old Newport Beach native, and Scanlon, 27, are “the kind of people who roll with the punches” and seek out solutions.

In hopes of offsetting the time and money devoted to settling Pollard’s mother’s affairs, the couple entered KIIS FM’s contest to give the “perfect wedding” to the “perfect couple.”

“When I heard about it on the radio, I just knew, ‘We are going to win this,’ ” Scanlon said.

“Most of the time, people see a couple like us and they say, ‘They’re so sweet, it’s disgusting,’” Pollard added. “But with us, they say, ‘They’re so perfect, it’s amazing.’”

The duo was among 1,000 couples who entered the competition, which stipulates each couple must maintain a website (viewable through www.derricanderin.com) with stories, videos and pictures depicting their storybook love. They’ve made it to the top 20.

The prize is the whole shebang, from the bachelor/bachelorette parties, to a string quartet for the ceremony, to the honeymoon.

“It covers pretty much every tiny, little part,” Scanlon said. “The videographer, photographer, hair, makeup, shoes, dresses, limo, DJ – everything!”

Scanlon and Pollard met through mutual friends a year ago at Newport Beach Brewing Company. Though each was involved with someone else, they soon broke it off to pursue their relationship.