Names & Faces

Here comes the bride? Something like that. Anna Nicole Smith and Howard K. Stern exchanged vows in the wee hours of Thursday morning onboard a boat in the Bahamas. But they weren't marriage vows, mind you.

Smith, 38, and her lawyer-turned-alleged-father-of-her-baby "made a commitment before God to be there for one another, to be each other's strength during this difficult time, now and always," TrimSpa publicist Robin Bonnema said in a statement yesterday. Smith is a spokeswoman for the weight-loss products company.

The ceremony was officiated, but was not a wedding and was not legal. "While not recognized as a marriage in the official capacity, the couple's commitment is no less real," the statement said.

Yeah, we're confused, too.

The former Playboy Playmate has been residing in the Bahamas since the Sept. 7 birth of her daughter, Dannielynn Hope, and death of her son, Daniel, three days later. Stern claimed paternity of the newborn in an interview with Larry King earlier this week and said he and Smith had been an item "for a very long time."

Close family and friends (including baby Dannielynn) attended the ceremony.

A Break From the Kids

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One local mom snagged a seven-week sojourn through Africa courtesy of the Travel Channel -- sans kids. Luck-y!

Vienna resident Adrienne Brawley and seven other mothers left the kids behind in February to film "Moms on the Road: Africa," a reality series that followed them across the continent and debuted Thursday night.

"I felt like I needed an adventure, to do something for myself," Brawley, 41, told us yesterday. Her husband, Randy, an Air Force pilot, traveled frequently for several years, which had left her feeling "like a single parent" at times. When Randy got a new job at the Pentagon, Brawley saw her chance to take a break. "I'd just been doing the kid thing," she said. "I needed to just escape."

Brawley, the mother of two, says her visits to South Africa, Botswana, Namibia (missing Brangelina by a month!) and Zambia "really changed my life. . . . There's a lot going on in Africa." And while her family is happy to have her home, Brawley says she won't forget her experiences any time soon: "I think I'm going to be going on about the Africa thing forever."

And a Visit With Mom

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Fresh off the "American Idol" tour, Elliott Yamin is ready to get to work after a short pit stop in Richmond.

The "Idol" finalist took a breather in his home town this week to hang out with his mom, Claudette, and is currently pondering offers from two music labels, his publicist told us yesterday. Yamin plans to head to Birmingham, Ala., Monday to rehearse with Taylor Hick s's band, Limbo, who will back the singer during his first post-"Idol" concert at the Virginia State Fair on Oct. 8.

Yamin plans to release an album early next year.

End Notes

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· Ah, John McClane we never knew you. Bruce Willis won't be in Washington to film "Live Free or Die Hard" before the movie's cast and crew leave the area for Los Angeles, the film's publicist, Claire Raskin, said yesterday. The fourth installment in the "Die Hard" series is set in Washington, with a good chunk of filming done in Baltimore (disguised as the nation's capital). Film crews captured aerial, background and Willis-free shots in Washington yesterday.

· New Washington Nationals owner Ted Lerner was spotted sitting behind home plate in a red Nats hat at Thursday night's game against the Philadelphia Phillies -- until the 2 a.m. end yesterday. A 4 1/2 -rain delay prolonged the game's start until 11:30 p.m. Now that's setting the standard at the top.

· Nearly a quarter of a century ago, the great tenor published " Placido Domingo : My First 40 Years." Probably wouldn't do to publish a new tome called "Placido Domingo: My First 65 Years," but Norton announced yesterday it has struck a deal for the award-winning Washington National Opera director to ink "The Joy of Opera." The book is expected to come out in 2009.

-- Korin Miller