Stratford couple wed in Las Vegas as Elvis serenades them
IT reads like a Hollywood film script set in Las Vegas starring a Stratford-upon-Avon woman crowned classic figure champion of the world in a natural body building contest who then ties the knot with the love of her life while Elvis conducts the wedding ceremony before the happy couple celebrate their honeymoon in Vegas and pose for cameras at Caesars Palace.
Maria Giordmaina, aged 45 from Meon Vale, is now The Natural Olympia, Physique Competition Classic Figure category champion for 2022/23 following an international contest held at The Golden Nugget Hotel in the old part of Las Vegas last month.
After her win, Maria and her partner of 17 years, Dave Griffiths from Stratford, were wed by Elvis at Bliss Wedding Chapel in Vegas where they took their Elvis vows and danced as the King of Rock n Roll sang some of his biggest hits during the ceremony such as, Can’t Help Falling In Love, Love Me Tender and then finished with a rousing rendition of Viva Las Vegas.
“My lovely mum Mavis joined Dave and I in the aisle and we shuffled to the first song, swayed to Love Me Tender and twirled around to Viva Las Vegas while I held the wedding bouquet,” said Maria who is a personal trainer at Everyone Active Stratford.
“Dave and I have been together a long time and you could say we’re no spring chickens but we did a cycling road trip previously and booked into Las Vegas some years ago not knowing if we’d like it but we did like it and stayed some extra nights. We said if we ever went back to Vegas we’d get married there. It was a relaxed, easy-going feel-good day that was full of love and laughter,” Maria told the Herald.
Maria and Dave’s four-week stay in the States was carefully planned to take into account the Natural Olympia contest and the wedding which the couple kept secret so only a select few knew it was due to take place.
“We only told a handful of people until the day before the wedding where we posted on Facebook and streamed it live for people to watch. My dad unfortunately passed away in 2020 so mum walked - well danced down the aisle - with me. There was only Dave, his mum, Liz, and Lee and Amy Kemp who run the bodybuilding federation. We didn't do many traditional things on the day, so no bridesmaid or best man. Just a group people celebrating fun, love and laughter together. Living in Stratford and having Pragnells right on my doorstep I had to get my special ring from there. It's a shop that people travel from all over the world to visit. It gives my ring an extra meaning and I will treasure it for ever,” said Maria.
The Natural Olympia is an annual competition which people from all over the world enter. There were contestants from 30 countries taking part at the two-day show and Maria was one of them.
Each country holds qualifying shows in the lead up to Natura Olympia then the winners from each category get an invite to compete against the best athletes from each country. It’s the final and biggest show of the season in Natural Bodybuilding.
A team of 20 people from the UK went this year from all different categories including Maria who entered the classic figure category.
“The weekend of the show was my hen do but only two people out of Team UK knew about it. The rest were unknowingly taking part in not only a bodybuilding show, but a hen party as well, it was the best,” Maria said.
She entered this year’s contest after watching a documentary about Natural Olympia in 2019
and set herself a goal of one day earning an invite to compete there.
Maria has won competitions previously. In 2019, it was the UKDFBA (UK Drug Free Bodybuilding Association) UK Finals and The WNBA (World Natural Bodybuilding Association) Finals
plus the UKDFBA UK Finals last year.
So what’s the secret to her successful and winning strategy?
“Things don't happen overnight it takes time, a lot of time. Bodybuilding has been my sport since 2015 but I was lifting weights long before that. I have a structure and a process in place that I follow each and every day. I enjoy what I do, I make it fun and I never give up.
Only one person can walk away with the tile of "The Best in the World" So for me "winning" is improving year-on-year, learning about myself, the human body, making friends, memories and having a great time. If I can do that it makes me feel I am unstoppable,” said Maria.
The support back home was a constant source of strength during the contest but it’s always been there for Maria as she explained.
“As a personal trainer, I work with men and ladies from all different backgrounds. Some have never been into a gym before and others have been training for years, then there’s everyone in-between. I love my job at the centre in Stratford and really enjoy making a difference to people's lives.
All my clients have followed my journey over the years, they are all just as excited as me when I enter a show. When I went back to work there were lots of happy tears for me and my four-week adventure which included a show, a wedding and a honeymoon.”
In America, Maria and Dave spent five nights with the UK team, five nights with their mums and the rest of the time was spent on their honeymoon and sightseeing.
“I would like people to know good things in life don't just happen, we have to make them happen. We need to be open to learning, accept that we are going to fail and that things are not easy. But anything you want in life is possible if you are willing to work for it, all it takes is time.
Never give up on a dream because of the time it will take to achieve it, the time will pass anyway," Maria said.
Having taken on the world – and won – Maria and her husband chose to go on a road trip for their honeymoon and drive the 270 miles from Vegas to Los Angeles, now it doesn’t get anymore Hollywood than that.
