Love marriages have gained great momentum over years with the emergence of broader social outlooks. Since the ancient period, there is abundance of instances where it is evident that love marriages have been taking place in spite of the restrictive measures taken by the ancient Indian society. However, it was looked upon a taboo to express such feelings from unmarried men and women towards each other. Nowadays it is believed that happy marriages begin when one marries the one he or she loves. Love is a dream and marriage is a reality. And when both dream and reality gets unified, it is the best thing that can happen to an individual.

History of Love Marriages
The concept of love marriages evolved from 17th century Europe. The idea of love marriage deals with the divine affection and shared life instead of just a sense of duty. Later the idea gained more prominence in the works of emergent romantic novelists. The concept greatly popularized the theory that the ideal marriage must be based on love. Later with the emergence of women`s movement the traditional concept of choosing spouse according to social status or wealth was extensively overruled. The gradual equalizing of the rights for men and women abolished the need for women to find a `provider` which rendered further momentum to love marriages. In fact Indian mythology also has numerous mentions of love marriages which established the existence of the concept since ancient past. The marriage of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati is a prominent testament where the love, devotion and penance on part of the latter led to their divine union. Gandharva marriage also shares similar concept and is based on the mutual attraction between a man and a woman. One of the celebrated mythological couple who represented this class of marriage was Dushyanta and Shakuntala.

Concept of Love Marriages
Love is a wonderful feeling and the couples always wish to experience the marriage, which calls for understanding and daily effort. One constantly needs to nurture his or her feelings. It requires mutual respect for each other along with time and attention as any other aspect of life. Love marriage can be the best thing if there is endeavour and commitment from both sides.

Pros and Cons of Love Marriages
Indian love marriages have both pros and cons. This kind of marriages gives people enough time to know the person and then decide about the idea to spend the entire life. The couples can understand each other in a better way. However, if the couples start behaving in a way that is unacceptable for each other, it becomes difficult for them to adjust to this. But if the love is true, then love marriages nurture love with every passing day. So if one wants to make the love marriage a successful one, then the marriage should be given some more time and commitment with constant reminder about the presence of love and concern for each other for seeing it blooming.