Pre-wedding shoot abroad

Pre-wedding shoot in Dubai

Wind towers and creekside lanes on one side, a city of glass on the other, and the desert waiting just beyond. Three cities' worth of backdrops within an hour's drive.

Best time: November to March; old Dubai in the morning, beaches and desert at sunset.

Where photographers take couples

Dubai Frame
A 150-metre gold picture frame in Zabeel Park, with old Dubai on one side and the new city on the other.
Downtown Dubai
The heart of new Dubai, built around the tallest building in the world.
Al Seef
A creekside quarter built to bring back old Dubai: sand-coloured lanes, wind towers and wooden abras on the water.
Al Fahidi
Dubai's oldest neighbourhood, a maze of lanes and wind towers from the late 1800s.
Burj Al Arab beach
The beach facing the sail-shaped Burj Al Arab, best as the sun goes down.
Desert road
Where the city ends and the desert begins: one straight road through the dunes.
Dubai Marina
A canal lined with towers that glows after dark.
Kite Beach
A long, easy beach where half of Dubai comes to walk at sunset.