1) A lovely welcome email (with your optional gift message) will be sent to the recipient email address at 8AM on the date you specify below. 2) In said email, your recipient will be given the ability to manage their subscription (i.e. pause, etc). 3) A physical card with your gift message will be included in the box with their first order. 4) At checkout, it might freak you out by indicating that you'll get billed again at the end of period you select. This is NOT the case. This is a prepaid, one-time purchase.