The 10 best wedding venues in Muscat

Not as visitors, in practice. Oman registers marriages through the Sharia courts and the Ministry of Justice, and the process is built around residents — it expects residency documentation and, for foreign nationals, paperwork routed through an embassy. There is no tourist civil-marriage route of the kind Italy, Greece or Mauritius offer. The workable plan is the one most destination couples use: complete the legal marriage at home first, then hold the ceremony and reception in Muscat as the celebration. Requirements vary by nationality, religion and residency status, so confirm the current position with your embassy in Muscat before you sign anything.

November to March, and earlier than you would expect. Daytime temperatures in that stretch sit in the mid-twenties and outdoor receptions work properly; from June to September, 40°C-plus heat with coastal humidity puts lawns and beaches out of use entirely. The complication is Ramadan, which currently falls inside those same winter months and during which no weddings are held, so the genuinely bookable season shortens each year. The largest rooms go first — Al Bustan's Al Majan and the Sheraton's Oman Ballroom have the fewest substitutes at their size.

Four of them. Al Bustan Palace's Al Majan Ballroom is the largest at roughly 13,000 square feet and up to 2,000 guests, with lawns holding a further 3,000; The St. Regis Al Mouj seats 900 at tables in a 1,348-square-metre ballroom; the Sheraton Oman Hotel in Ruwi does 750; and Kempinski's Muscat Ballroom does 600. Below that, Grand Hyatt (500), W Muscat (420) and IntercityHotel (400) cover the middle, while the Areena hall in Seeb seats 700 with no hotel attached. Always ask whether a quoted number is banquet seating or standing capacity — the same room routinely advertises both, and the gap can be close to double.

More than in most cities, because Muscat runs as a long ribbon along the coast rather than radiating from a centre. Al Mouj and Madinat Al Irfan — St. Regis, Kempinski, JW Marriott — are ten to fifteen minutes from the airport, which suits a guest list that is mostly flying in. Shatti Al Qurum, where Grand Hyatt and W Muscat sit, is around twenty minutes out, and Barr Al Jissah is roughly forty minutes the other side of Old Muscat on a coast road that slows after dark. Whichever zone you pick effectively decides where guests sleep, so block rooms at the venue or immediately beside it rather than downtown.