I'm so with you on that, Arria. Nothing offends me more than men throwing an "I love you" at me after the obligatory "You eyes are as deep as the ocean or some such sappy phrase"...I mean, you've seen me once and annoyed me for 5 minutes, and now you love me? Please. I'm not an idiot.

As for the original question...I don't think it matters who says it first. My use of the L-word is a sparse one, I only say it when I absolutely mean it. When I absolutely mean it, though, it becomes necessary. From the three times I said I've said it first one time (and he laughed and said "you sure as hell don't mean it...wait *stops laughing* you do mean it? Me? Really? Oh gosh, I love you too -- we were together almost 8 years after that). I wanted to say it first the other time...it was on the tip of my tongue for like a week, but didn't really come out due to the circumstances of the whole affair...so it got morphed into "I feel so attracted to you" or "you sure are special to me" -- he finally broke the ice by saying it first. I remember there were many other words after that confession, he wouldn't let me fit in a "I love you too" anywhere...but he later told me that the moment he really realised that he loved me he had to tell me because it would have been like withholding something important from me.

So, I'd say if you truly love him, tell him. Love in itself doesn't come with conditions, so just because you feel like you feel he shouldn't feel pressured. Anyway, just my two cents!