Hunt proposes on Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is known for presents and Santa Claus, but for Ansley Cooper and Daniel Hunt, it will be known as their engagement day.

Cooper is the daughter of April Cooper and Andy Coppage, step-daughter to Stacy Coppage and granddaughter of Jean and David Cooper. Hunt is the son of Mark Hunt and Kelly Nester and raised by Steve Strong.

The two originally met at a bonfire in December of 2016.

The two didn’t know each other at all at the time.

“I tried to hit on her,” Hunt said.

Cooper said she remembered when he tried to start a conversation with her.

“He saw my tattoo and said it was cute,” Cooper said.

After the bonfire, Hunt found Cooper on social media and they started talking from there.

“He didn’t know my name, where I was from, he didn’t know nothing,” Cooper said. “He had to find out my name and find out everything and he found me on Facebook and went from there. I think I messaged him first actually.”

Hunt said he had to ask four people to even find out Cooper’s name.

After talking for a few months, the two went on their first date together in March 2017 at the rodeo in Montgomery.

Cooper said there wasn’t exactly a “light bulb moment” when she knew he was the one, but that she just thought he was the right one.

“When you think you’ve found something right, you just never give up on it,” Cooper said. “We’ve gone through our times and our problems but that’s what every relationship does. When you find something you want and you think you want it forever, you just never want to give up on it. So we’ve decided we never want to give up on it.”

Hunt had a more simple answer.

“She puts up with me,” Hunt said.

Before the proposal on Dec. 24, 2019, Hunt had actually planned to propose at a rodeo down in Bonifay that October, but the couple got into an argument at the rodeo so he didn’t.

“(I was going to propose) right there in the middle of the arena,” Hunt said. “I had it all planned out but she wanted to argue about sitting down. I was aggravated when I got back to the hotel.”

Cooper said that he actually told her that during the argument and she didn’t believe him at the time.

Hunt held onto that ring until the proposal on Christmas Eve.

The night before the actual proposal, Hunt said he got the blessing of Cooper’s father and grandfather.

Cooper said she remembered Christmas Eve morning, helping her little brothers open up some of their Christmas presents when she saw something fall out of Hunt’s pocket.

“I saw something fall out of his pocket, and I didn’t know what it was,” Cooper said. “I was like, ‘Hey, you dropped something,’ and he was like, ‘Oh, uh, the girls at work gave it to me, it’s a necklace.’ And I was like ‘Oh, okay.’”

A few minutes after this interaction, Hunt called Cooper into the bedroom.

“I’m a big fan of makeup so he bought me a makeup pallet and had it all laying out on my makeup table and had the ring sitting on it,” Cooper said. “He called me back in the room and had it all sitting out for me but I wasn’t paying any attention to it because I was worried about my little brothers and their Christmas. He had given me a promise ring the first year we were together and I was like, ‘Aw thanks, it’s another promise ring.’ He goes, ‘No, will you marry me?’ and instantly I just started bawling, crying.”

Hunt said he was planning to propose after Christmas, but he figured Cooper was onto him after the ring box fell out of his pocket.

“It wasn’t supposed to be that day, but it fell out of my pocket and I didn’t know if she had caught on,” Hunt said. “I really didn’t want to do it on Christmas Day or Christmas Eve and take away from that. I got tired of waiting, I was nervous enough as it was and I figured why not do it now.”

Cooper said that Hunt did remember something very important before the proposal.

“Before he ever proposed to me, (I told him) to take me to get my nails done so I could take plenty of pictures to show it off,” Cooper said. “We went shopping that whole weekend before. We went everywhere and then he took me to get my nails done.”

The two will tie the knot on Oct. 10 at Boots and Veils.

Hunt described the wedding planning process as “aggravating.”

Cooper described it as “stressful.”

She said as far as the wedding is concerned, she’s excited to meet the rest of Hunt’s family since he’s from the Arkansas and south Missouri area.

“I’m excited to finally meet his aunts and uncles and everybody,” Cooper said. “He’s already met my crazy crew, it’s time for me to meet his.”

Hunt said that the guest list for his side of the family is shaping up to be quite large.

“It’s going to be pretty big, I’ve got a lot of people coming from back home.”

Cooper said she hopes to start a family with Hunt after the wedding.

“Hopefully in the next few years or so with us getting married, we can bring a new edition into the world,” Cooper said.

Hunt said that buying a house, some land and “maybe a few cows” will come first.