Since the 17th century, it's been the pursuit of love that has fascinated us, not what we do with it when we get it. ... All love stories end with a wedding, but where once we presumed the lovers faded away into a happy ever after, now they just fade away.

  Nearly 50 years ago, when the first edition of the Handbook of Marriage and Family was published, family scholars underscored the central importance of marriage in individuals’ lives and accordingly advocated for a better understanding of those factors that predict marital success and positive marital adjustment (Bernard, 1964; Bowerman, 1964). It is unclear whether these pioneering family scholars recognized as early as 1964 that they were on the precipice of significant social changes that would define the latter half of the twentieth century as a period of marital “deinstitutionalization” (Cherlin, 2004) or the “world-historic transformation” of marriage (Coontz, 2004). Prior to the Handbook’s second edition in 1987, however, they certainly knew something was up

  Technology and social norms have changed the way people date in the 21st century. While technology has made some aspects of dating more convenient, it has also made it a lot less personal. Millennials are waiting longer to get married, and are more comfortable with having s3x without a long-term commitment. A new study suggests the institution of marriage has changed, reflecting women's educational attainment, earnings potential, and involvement in the workforce. The commitment of women to jobs and careers has reduced, or eliminated economic disparities between men and women

  MANY ASK QUESTIONS LIKE:

BUT THE REAL QUESTION  HERE IS: Is a wedding necessary for a relationship to thrive?