We're getting married!

Marty was born in Murray, KY to Roy and Shellie Dunning. He has one sister, Mandy, two nephews, Max and Ryne and a niece, Gracie. The majority of his family lives in KY and TN. Marty primarily grew up in Wickliffe, KY. He attended Ballard Memorial High School where he was very involved in extracurricular activities. He ran cross country and track, played the saxophone in the marching band, participated in school plays and musicals, and was named Mr. BMHS. Marty then moved to Lexington, KY to attend the University of Kentucky where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and became a brother of Phi Kappa Tau. Through Phi Tau, he volunteered with the SeriousFun Children's Network, a network of camps for children with serious illnesses and chronic conditions. He has since volunteered or worked at all nine of the SeriousFun Children's Network camps in the United States. Upon graduating from UK, Marty worked for the Phi Tau headquarters in Oxford, OH. He found himself volunteering every weekend at Flying Horse Farms, the SeriousFun camp in OH, and decided to change career paths. He applied to a position at Roundup River Ranch in Gypsum, CO in 2016 and has never looked back. Marty currently serves as the Program Manager at Roundup River Ranch.

It all began in 1991 when a beautiful baby boy (not quite as cute as Baby Yoda) was born to Bruce and Brenda Couch in Oklahoma City, OK. Cooper has four siblings: David, Cindy, Andy, and Corbin. Cooper is an uncle to Lauren, Ellen, Carson, Caiden, and Coleman. Most of his family lives in OK and TX. Cooper spent most of his childhood in Duncan and Enid, OK. He was very involved in extracurriculars in high school, most of which was while he was at Oklahoma Bible Academy. He ran cross country and track, sang in the choir, played piano, performed in school musicals, started the Spanish Club, and was named Mr. OBA. Upon graduation, Cooper moved to Middlebury, VT to attend Middlebury College. Here, he studied languages - particularly Spanish, but also German and French. He became quite the outdoors enthusiast, and went on several adventures with his friends. He worked for the admissions and alumni offices for Middlebury as a student. After graduation, he supervised the staff for the Middlebury College Reunion, the college’s largest event, then worked as the bilingual assistant for a free clinic. As an undergrad, Cooper found The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp - a SeriousFun camp in CT. He was on staff for a summer as a counselor, and after working in Middlebury for awhile, he moved to CT to join the Hero’s Journey program - a wilderness and leadership opportunity for their oldest campers. And then...

Cooper moved to Denver, CO from Middlebury, VT in 2016 to "find his mountain-man husband" while applying to PA School. His first weekend in Colorado, his friend, Molly McLean, asked him to volunteer with her at Roundup River Ranch. It was at camp that Cooper and Marty first met. After a weekend full of volunteering, they went hiking at Booth Falls to get to know each other better. They had a lot more in common than they thought! One thing led to another, and they officially started dating on September 19, 2016, after a hike up Mt. Bierstadt. Knowing Cooper would be moving to California the following year for PA School, they spent as much time as possible together. When they had to part in August 2017, Marty knew that Cooper was the one, but he didn't quite feel that Cooper was ready. A couple of months later, after talking with his friends Becky and Kevin, Cooper decided he was going to propose. He led Marty to believe he would propose during a trip to Vermont for Christmas, but it was a decoy. He was secretly planning to propose to Marty after a weekend of volunteering at the Painted Turtle, the SeriousFun camp in California. Many of the SeriousFun camps have a "Book of Firsts" that campers can write in after experiencing a "first." For example, "the first time I caught a fish," or, "the first time I met someone with the same diagnosis as me." So, Cooper made a Book of Firsts with "firsts" from their relationship. Thanks to the help of their mutual friend Chloe and the Painted Turtle staff, Cooper surprised Marty by proposing with their very own Book of Firsts. The last page said, "The first time we volunteered at The Painted Turtle, where I asked you if this could be..." *page turn* "The First Day of the Rest of Our Lives." And he said, “Yes!” Thank you for all of the love you have shown us. We're so excited to share this next chapter of our lives with all of you! –Cooper & Marty