I wouldn't just send my quilt top. I need to have more control.
I do LA quilting for friends. Believe me we go over patterns and I write down what we agree on! I have heard too many horro stories from other LA'ers who didn't and got stung by hurtful comments after doing the work.
HandiQuilter has a roll of plastic to mark the quilting patterns on so the client can see what is being considered. I've used it and found I like it a lot.
ali