FAQ – Lily's Florist USA

Look, if you order before 1 PM in your recipient's time zone Monday through Friday, we can usually make it happen. Saturdays? You need to be even quicker, 10 AM is the cutoff. After that, honestly, you're pushing your luck, but give us a call anyway. Sometimes our florists are absolute legends and can work miracles. No promises though.

Great question, and I get why it might seem a bit confusing. Here's the deal: when you place an order with us, we immediately send it to one of our partner florists in the exact area you're sending to. Not some random florist three towns over, but someone actually IN that neighborhood, like our partners in New Smyrna Beach who know every street and shortcut. They make the arrangement fresh (usually that same day or the next morning), and deliver it themselves. Think of us like the world's most dedicated matchmaker, but for flowers and customers. You get the convenience of ordering from anywhere at any time, the local florist gets the business, and your recipient gets fresh flowers from someone who actually knows the area. Everyone wins, yeah?

Look, I'm not going to pretend we're something we're not. Yes, we're technically an order gatherer, and you can read all about how we got here from a tiny Australian flower shop. But here's the thing that makes us sleep okay at night: try finding a local florist's website at 11 PM when you suddenly remember your anniversary (been there). Or try calling five different shops to find one that delivers to that specific assisted living facility your grandma just moved to. We've already done that legwork with over 15,000 florists across America. Plus, our partner florists actually like working with us because we send them consistent business. Could you go direct? Absolutely. But sometimes convenience matters, and that's where we come in handy.

I wish we could promise that, but florists aren't pizza delivery drivers. They've got routes, other deliveries, and honestly, traffic to deal with. Best we can do is morning or afternoon delivery windows. If you really need it there at a specific time (like before a 2 PM funeral service), put that in the special instructions and we'll do our absolute best. But exact times? Nah, can't guarantee that. The flowers will get there on the day you want them though, that we can promise.

No, only Mother's Day Sunday, which is the second Sunday of every May.

Oh boy, this one keeps me up at night sometimes. Here's the honest truth: things can go sideways occasionally. Maybe the florist runs out of pink roses, maybe the delivery driver can't find the apartment, maybe your message card gets a word wrong. When it happens (and it will, we're all human), Bonnie in our customer service will personally handle it. She's not reading from a script in a call center somewhere. She'll actually call the florist, sort it out, and if we can't fix it, we'll refund you. No arguing, no "sorry that's policy" nonsense. We're too small to afford unhappy customers, so we do whatever it takes to make it right.

Yeah, absolutely. Hospitals are a pain to deliver to (those places are mazes), but we do it all the time. Just make sure you give us the patient's full name, room number if you have it, and the ward they're in. Some hospitals have weird rules about flowers in certain areas (like ICU), but the florist usually knows all that. If the hospital won't accept them, we'll call you and figure out a plan B.

Military bases, gated communities, secure office buildings? Yeah, we deliver there, but you've got to help us out. Give us your recipient's phone number and any gate codes or special instructions. If it's a military base, we definitely need the recipient to meet the driver at the gate. Can't just roll up to Fort Bragg and expect them to wave us through with a bouquet of roses, you know?

This is actually pretty clever (if I do say so myself). Our system knows every florist in our network, where they deliver, what they specialize in, their delivery times, the works. When your order comes in, it goes to the florist who's closest to your delivery address and has the best track record for that type of arrangement. We're not just throwing darts at a map here. Sometimes it's the fancy shop downtown, sometimes it's Mary who runs a studio from her home but makes the most incredible bouquets you've ever seen. We've spent years figuring this out, building relationships with florists one by one since 2007 (there's a whole story about how we started with just one florist in a small Australian town on our About Us page if you're curious).

Funeral flowers are different, we get that. Tell us when the service starts and we'll make absolutely sure the flowers are there beforehand. This is one time where we really push our florists to hit a specific window. Nobody wants flowers showing up in the middle of a service. Just give us the funeral home details and service time, we'll handle the rest.

This is tricky. Most florists won't just dump flowers on a doorstep (especially in summer heat or if there are dogs around). They'll usually try calling the recipient first. If you want them left somewhere specific, like with a neighbor or in a shaded spot by the back door, tell us when you order. Otherwise, the florist might take them back to the shop and try redelivery the next day. Every florist handles it a bit differently, but they're not going to let $75 worth of roses die on a hot porch if they can help it.

Real florists, 100%. We're talking about Barbara who's been running her shop on Main Street for 30 years, or that hip new place that just opened up and does those modern arrangements everyone loves on Instagram. No warehouses, no flower factories, no bulk operations. Every single order goes to an actual local florist who probably knows half the people in their delivery area by name. That's the whole point of what we built, starting from that first partnership with Bev (who's still going strong in Australia, by the way).

Just the basics. Recipient's name and full delivery address (apartment numbers matter!), their phone number (trust me, this saves everyone headaches), what you want the card to say, and your payment info. That's it. Our site's encrypted and all that security stuff, so your credit card details are safe. We're not selling your info to anyone either, we're too small to even know how to do that if we wanted to.

If they're all going to the same address, knock yourself out. Order ten arrangements if you want. Different addresses though? You'll need to place separate orders for each delivery location. Our system isn't fancy enough to split orders up like Amazon does.

I hate hidden fees with a passion, probably because I've been stung by them too many times myself. Our prices include the flowers, the florist's labor, and standard delivery. That's it. The price you see is what you pay. Now, sometimes there might be a small extra charge for delivering to a hospital (those places are mazes) or if you want delivery at exactly 9:15 AM, but we'll tell you that upfront. No nasty surprises when you get to checkout, no "processing fees" that magically appear. We make our money from the commission the florists give us, not by nickel and diming you.

Oh man, happens more than you'd think. Call us right away at (800) 946-5457 or shoot an email to [email protected]. If we catch it before the florist starts making the arrangement, no problem, we'll cancel the duplicate and refund you. If they've already started? Well, someone's getting extra flowers. But seriously, call us quick and we'll sort it out.

Realized you typed the wrong address? Spelled someone's name wrong on the card? Yeah, we can fix that, but you need to tell us ASAP. Once that order goes to the florist and they start working on it, changes get complicated. Email us at [email protected] or call (800) 946-5457. If it's a minor change and we catch it in time, no problem. Major changes might be trickier.

Fair question, and honestly, I'd be wondering the same thing. We've been doing this since 2007, just not always in the USA. We're real people (Dennis, Dan, myself, my wife, Ayu, Bonnie, and Phoebe) working from a real office in North Carolina. Google us, check our reviews, heck, call us if you want. You might actually get me on the phone if Bonnie's at lunch. We're not some venture capital funded startup that'll disappear next year, we're a family business that started with my baby breaking vases in a flower shop. We've delivered hundreds of thousands of orders over the years. But you know what? Start small if you're nervous. Send flowers to yourself first, see how it goes. That's what I'd do.

Yeah, it's safe. We use SSL encryption (that little padlock thing in your browser). Your credit card info goes straight to the payment processor, we don't even see the full number. Look, I'm paranoid about online security too, but this is as safe as buying anything else online. If you're really worried, use PayPal, then we definitely don't see your card details.

Sometimes we run promotions or give repeat customers discount codes. If you've got one, there's a box at checkout where you can enter it. If it doesn't work, it probably expired or there's a typo. Give us a call and we'll sort it out. No voucher code? Don't worry about it, you're not missing out on some secret mega discount.

Ugh, website gremlins. Usually clearing your browser cache fixes it (that's your browsing history and cookies). Still broken? Try a different browser. Still still broken? Yeah, it might be our fault. Call us and we'll take your order over the phone. Sometimes our website just decides to have a bad day.

That's weird and probably means something went wrong. Check your spam folder first (our emails sometimes end up there). Nothing? Call us with your name and email, we'll check if the order went through. Sometimes the order processes fine but the confirmation email gets lost in the internet somewhere. Don't place the order again though, you might end up with doubles.

Absolutely, and not one of those chat bots that makes you want to throw your computer out the window. Call us at (800) 946-5457 and you'll get Bonnie, or sometimes Ayu, or if things are really crazy, you might even get me or Dennis. We're in North Carolina, so East Coast hours, but we're actual humans who can actually help. No phone trees, no "press 1 for this, press 2 for that" torture. Just real people who know flowers and genuinely care about getting your order right. Though fair warning, if you call at lunch time, you might have to wait a few minutes. We're a small team and everyone's got to eat, right?

We take Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and PayPal. That's it. No cryptocurrency, no Venmo, no IOUs. Pretty standard stuff really.

Yeah, there's a delivery fee. It covers getting the flowers from the shop to your recipient. It varies depending on distance, but you'll see it clearly before you pay. Rural addresses sometimes cost a bit more because the florist has to drive further. We're upfront about it though, no surprises.

If we screwed up? Absolutely. If the flowers were dead on arrival, never showed up, or went to the wrong address (and it was our fault), you're getting your money back. If you just changed your mind after ordering? That's trickier, especially if the florist already made the arrangement. But call us, we're reasonable people. We'd rather work something out than have you unhappy. Refunds usually take 2-10 days to show up on your card, that's the bank's timeline, not ours.

Here's the reality: that photo on our website was probably taken in optimal conditions with flowers at their absolute peak. Your florist might not have those exact purple roses today. Maybe they're out of season, maybe their supplier didn't deliver them, maybe Mercury is in retrograde. Point is, florists sometimes need to substitute. But here's the thing, they're professionals. They'll swap in something similar and just as nice (often better because it's fresher). If you absolutely must have exactly what's in the photo, tell us when you order, but be prepared to wait a couple days while the florist sources them.

Then tell us upfront. Put "NO SUBSTITUTIONS" in your special instructions. But fair warning, this might mean delays if the florist doesn't have the exact flowers, or in worst case, we might have to cancel and refund if they really can't get what you want. Most people are fine with substitutions because florists know what they're doing, but hey, if you want those exact yellow tulips or nothing, that's your call.

You want roses instead of carnations? All white instead of mixed colors? Yeah, we can usually do that. Put it in the special instructions or give us a call. The florist will do their best to accommodate. Might affect the price though, roses cost more than daisies, you know? And some requests might be impossible (blue roses don't exist naturally, sorry), but we'll let you know.

We've got the usual add-ons. Balloons, teddy bears, chocolates, that sort of thing. Some florists have gift baskets with gourmet food or spa products. Depends on what that particular florist stocks. It's not Amazon, we can't get you everything under the sun, but we've got enough options to make your flower delivery a bit more special.