--- title: Starbucks Proposal Includes Hidden Messages Around the World description: The globetrotting couple left notes in airport Starbucks all over the world, so the fiancé orchestrated a proposal at one of the cafes. canonical: https://time.com/4845989/starbucks-proposal-amsterdam/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-07-05T21:28:37.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:45:08.998Z og:title: This Starbucks Proposal Sets a New Standard for Love Notes og:description: A globetrotting couple got engaged after an elaborate proposal scheme og:url: https://time.com/4845989/starbucks-proposal-amsterdam/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0482872aa7b6eb51/6988d48f22fb85a856e21da7/austin_and_ester_proposal_amesterdam_1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: austin-esther-starbucks og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Starbucks Proposal Sets a New Standard for Love Notes twitter:description: A globetrotting couple got engaged after an elaborate proposal scheme twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0482872aa7b6eb51/6988d48f22fb85a856e21da7/austin_and_ester_proposal_amesterdam_1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Epic Caffeine-Fueled Starbucks Proposal Sets a New Standard for Love Notes  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jul 5, 2017 9:28 PM UTC  Courtesy of Austin Mann  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jul 5, 2017 9:28 PM UTC The [Starbucks ](http://www.extracrispy.com/drinks/3338/how-starbucks-got-its-literary-name)at Amsterdam’s airport may not strike some as the most romantic spot on the planet. But for globetrotting freelance photographers Esther Havens and Austin Mann, it was the perfect place for a marriage proposal, given that the two had struck up their romance in that very same coffee shop over a series of hidden love notes, a habit that ended up spanning café locations in airport terminals around the world. In a post [on the Starbucks blog](https://news.starbucks.com/news/a-trail-of-notes-leads-to-a-proposal-at-starbucks), now-fiancé Mann explained how it all went down. Although the duo initially met in 2008, he ended up taping or hiding messages to Havens in Starbucks in different airports around the world, as they both traveled so frequently and would inevitably pass through the chain’s outposts. He would send her clues as to where to find the notes, and thus began a long-distance romance of epic, caffeine-fueled proportions. For the proposal, Mann alerted the Amsterdam Starbucks’ staff and made sure that Haven’s family were in the airport for the big moment. And while a security line snafu almost derailed the plan, ultimately she did head to their [Starbucks](http://time.com/4834814/starbucks-japan-teahouse-kyoto/), pick up a note, and discover her soon-to-be groom waiting for her at the counter with a ring. “Everyone cheered. I had no idea anyone was watching,” Havens said of the unexpected surprise. As for the rest of us? We can only hope that someone has the forethought to send us a text, let alone hide notes around the world. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4845989/starbucks-proposal-amsterdam/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4845989/starbucks-proposal-amsterdam/"},"headline":"Epic Caffeine-Fueled Starbucks Proposal Sets a New Standard for Love Notes","datePublished":"2017-07-05T21:28:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:45:08.998Z","description":"The globetrotting couple left notes in airport Starbucks all over the world, so the fiancé orchestrated a proposal at one of the cafes.","url":"https://time.com/4845989/starbucks-proposal-amsterdam/","keywords":["Newsfeed","viral","Starbucks","Romance","Proposal"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0482872aa7b6eb51/6988d48f22fb85a856e21da7/austin_and_ester_proposal_amesterdam_1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0482872aa7b6eb51/6988d48f22fb85a856e21da7/austin_and_ester_proposal_amesterdam_1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"austin-esther-starbucks","caption":"","creditText":"Courtesy of Austin Mann","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4845989/starbucks-proposal-amsterdam/","name":"Epic Caffeine-Fueled Starbucks Proposal Sets a New Standard for Love Notes"}}]}] ```