marriage is not inherently linked with romance. an unfortunate plenty of marriages don't have any romance left in them, and a few might never have had any to begin with.
the catch22 [of a sort] is that marriage has a very serious, intense connotation (to those who even consider it, at least), and even some marriages that begin in a romantic spirit are embarked upon merely for the sake of the intensity of the feelings between the two, but with some potentially crucial perspective lacking. [plenty of people won't approve of "analyzing" such things from within a partnership/couplehood/whathaveyou, and i'm not the one to gainsay them. yet i observe, and likely subserve often enough...]
some people expect service which they [sometimes immediately] fail to earn.
[too many people expect obedience that nobody deserves.]
some people move in together too soon.
some people have sex too soon.
some people have sex too late.
some people meet in elementary school and never stray or look back and live full happy lives with or without children or pets.
and naturally, foresight is never 20/20. except for kassandra's, of course, and look where that got her.
What IS the difference between love and friendship?
friendship's a pretty easy one, ne? but love is so bandied about, with such a huge spectrum of association and expectation... well, let's just hope nobody attempts to give a definitive answer - just a lot of personal ones would be nice (and i 'spect what you were 'specting in the first place). (it's too bad that the religions that go on about it the most are riddled with either aliens [hare krsna] or hypocrites [xtians]... actually quakers are pretty close to the genuine mark, from where i'm standing)
to me, love is a deeply warm, heady and inspiring draught of acceptance, appreciation, and affection.
i also find that it intermingles with attraction, devotion, obsession, desperation, ecstasy, idiocy, bravery, and a host of others, sometimes so subtly that they are mistaken for the same thing [party 3 sees 1's love as desperation, while 1 sees their own obsession as love, e.g.].
in my life, first, second, or third hand, it's too often a tough call.