For a dry outdoor evening, choose June to September: from 2015 to 2024, Ain Anub averaged under three days of rain a month in that window. For milder days and fewer clashes with peak Saturdays, look at late May and early October, and keep a covered plan for rain.
Below: ten years of weather for the hills and the coast, sunset times for every month of the season, and how a Lebanese wedding night is shaped around them. The mountain figures are for Ain Anub, the village where Qasr Noun stands.
Lebanon's wedding season
Summer has long been wedding season here. In 2014 Al-Monitor described "convoys of honking, flower-covered cars" as "a daily sight from June to October" (Al-Monitor, 2014).
Within that window, July and August are the peak. Organisers told Al-Modon in September 2025 that demand rises as expatriates return for the summer, and that they make up more than half of the couples marrying in those months. A bride who chose late September told the same reporter it saved her more than half the usual costs.
The 2026 summer was disrupted, with planners telling The Beiruter that many couples postponed or moved abroad. Some of those weddings will look for 2027 dates. That makes the shoulder months worth a serious look.
Month by month
Average daily highs and lows, monthly rain and rainy days, 2015 to 2024. Mountain figures are for Ain Anub; coastal figures for central Beirut.
| Month | Ain Anub high / low (°C) | Beirut high / low (°C) | Ain Anub rain (mm) | Days with 1 mm+ rain | Sunset, 15th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April | 20.9 / 10.6 | 22.4 / 14.4 | 49 | 7.8 | 19:08 |
| May | 24.7 / 14.6 | 26.0 / 18.3 | 25 | 5.4 | 19:31 |
| June | 27.2 / 17.6 | 28.6 / 21.6 | 7 | 2.2 | 19:50 |
| July | 29.8 / 20.2 | 31.1 / 24.4 | 1 | 0.5 | 19:48 |
| August | 30.0 / 20.5 | 31.5 / 24.9 | 1 | 0.3 | 19:23 |
| September | 28.6 / 18.8 | 30.3 / 23.4 | 6 | 2.2 | 18:43 |
| October | 25.5 / 15.3 | 27.6 / 20.3 | 33 | 6.6 | 18:03 |
| November | 20.5 / 11.0 | 23.2 / 15.8 | 56 | 10.1 | 16:34 |
Weather: Open-Meteo historical reanalysis, 2015 to 2024, at Ain Anub village coordinates (33.786 N, 35.543 E, model elevation about 495 m) vs central Beirut (model elevation about 33 m). Sunset: Lebanon local time, summer time until the end of October.
April. Mild days, cold nights, eight rainy days on average. Better for an engagement or a katb kteb under cover than for an open-air dinner.
May. Half April's rain. In the hills, May averages 24.7 °C by day and 14.6 °C at night. A shoulder month: plan a covered space, and the reward is soft light and a quieter calendar.
June. The rain is nearly gone and the days are long. Sunset comes close to 19:50, which leaves a long golden hour after guests arrive.
July. The driest month, and the busiest. On the coast the average night stays at 24.4 °C. In Ain Anub it falls to 20.2 °C.
August. As dry as July and a little warmer. Sunset is earlier, around 19:23 by mid-month.
September. Still dry, with about two rainy days. Nights soften to 18.8 °C in the hills, and the peak crowd has gone home.
October. The first real rain returns: 33 mm over six or seven days. Early October is mild; late October asks for heaters, shawls and a covered plan. Sunset is near 18:00.
November. Ten rainy days and a 16:34 sunset once the clocks go back. An indoor season.
Mountain vs coast: why altitude changes the evening
By day, Ain Anub is only 1.3 to 2.7 °C cooler than central Beirut. By night, the gap widens to 3.7 to 5.0 °C, every month of the season. The hills lose their heat after sunset; the coast holds it.
That is the hour that matters. A July dinner at 20.2 °C is comfortable in a suit. The same dinner at 24.4 °C, by the sea, is not. In October the arithmetic turns: 15.3 °C in the hills means a layer for older guests, and heaters near the tables.
Parfit described Ain Anub in 1917 as "nearly 2000 feet high, on the Lebanon hills, overlooking the city of Beyrout and the Mediterranean Sea" (Parfit, 1917). The climb is the price of the cool. Before you decide, check how far the mountain is from Beirut.
Planning the evening around the sunset
Work backwards from sunset. The best light for photographs is the hour before it; the zaffe looks best after dark, when lights and sparks carry.
- June and July. Sunset near 19:50. Guests arrive around 18:30, portraits in the last hour of light, the zaffe after 20:30.
- August. Sunset around 19:23. Move everything about half an hour earlier.
- September. Sunset near 18:43. Guests leaving Beirut on a Saturday afternoon need time; build it into the invitation.
- Early October. Sunset near 18:03. The evening starts early and runs long, and the nights are cool.
From the western slopes of Mount Lebanon the sun goes down over the sea. For venues built around that view, see our guide to heritage venues with a sunset view, and for the hill's own past, a century of evenings on this hill.
The zaffe, dabke and the shape of a Lebanese wedding night
A Lebanese wedding night has a recognisable shape. It almost always opens with the zaffe, a procession with "a large troupe of drummers playing the Derbake, musicians, and dancers in coordinated costumes", according to Arabia Weddings. The Knot describes a march that can include drummers, bagpipes and dancers, followed by dabke dancers, the couple, and finally the guests, all dancing their way into the reception (The Knot).
Dinner follows, often with a live band or a singer. Later, Arabia Weddings notes, "a DJ steps in to drive the after-party."
In Druze tradition the zaffe can begin earlier and elsewhere. One account in the USC Digital Folklore Archives describes a procession from the groom's side to the bride's home, with a band and dancers in traditional Druze dress: "The groom and family must dance and sing until they reach the bride to claim her from her parents." Ain Anub itself is, in Parfit's words, "an important Druze centre" (Parfit, 1917).
Two practical notes. Zaffe choreography, songs and timing are usually settled one to two months before the wedding, per Arabia Weddings. And Lebanon has no domestic civil marriage: The Knot notes that couples cannot hold a civil ceremony in the country, so the religious ceremony takes place separately and the venue hosts the celebration. Couples who want a civil marriage often marry abroad; The Beiruter lists packages in Larnaca from $1,220 and Istanbul from $2,070.
Booking lead times
Peak Saturdays go first, and in Lebanon the peak is July and August, when families abroad fly home. If your heart is set on one of them, choose the venue before anything else, then the photographer and the zaffe troupe.
If your date is flexible, the shoulder months give you more choice and, often, a lower bill. Read how off-peak months can change your budget. Whatever the month, ask every supplier the same question: what happens if we need to move the date?
To see the evening light at Qasr Noun for yourself, call or WhatsApp +961 3 697 772 for a private visit.