A dad livened up his son’s wedding with a musical number dedicated to the newlyweds.
Bruce Miller, a pediatric ophthalmologist in Weston, Florida, says “music is my life.” Not only did he play in a band during medical school, his daughter and wife love to sing and his son Jake Miller is a professional musician.
When it came time for Bruce to give a toast at Jake's wedding to his now-wife Brandi, he let his musical talents shine by surprising everyone with a personalized parody of a song for the couple. Jake posted a sliver of his dad’s performance on TikTok, shot by photography and videography company Wild & Roam, where the video has more than two million views.
Bruce got the idea after his family attended a wedding where the bride's father-in-law sang a spin-off of Billy Joel's "Piano Man." Inspired, Bruce asked Jake and Brandi, “Can I do that at your wedding?” and they said, absolutely.
In the year leading up to Jake and Brandi’s June 1 nuptials, Bruce worked in secret on a song that would best honor the couple.
“I’m a 70s rock music junkie and the (former) band Looking Glass had a hit song called ‘Brandy,’” Bruce, 61, tells TODAY.com. Realizing he could easily change the lyrics to describe the couple, Bruce started writing.
Bruce then called a local producer with whom Jake used to work, went to the studio and left with an MP3 file from which to memorize and practice, whenever he was in his car.
“I wanted to do it right,” says Bruce.
When Bruce stood to make his speech at the Santa Barbara-area wedding, he was emotional, having just spent time in the hospital for kidney problems.
“I wasn’t sure I would even make it to the wedding,” he says. “I was so overwhelmed and grateful."
After making his father-of-the-groom speech, Bruce told the guests, “Oh yeah, and one more thing ...” and launched into his song, the lyrics of which read in part:
They met the old-fashioned way
Jake was on tour near the Tampa Bay
He saw her picture on Instagram this way, so he slid into her DMs
He said, ‘Hey, come to my show’
She said, ‘I never heard of you, so why should I go?’
But they kept in touch and love started to grow
And here we are today
Jake, 31, wasn’t surprised by his dad’s efforts.
“That’s just who he is,” Jake tells TODAY.com. “The reason I got into music was because of my dad — he always played Bruce Springsteen and Eagles around the house and he taught me how to play drums when I was 8.”
Jake adds, “My friends think he’s the cool and funny dad.”
Brandi, a speech pathologist, and Jake started dating in August 2019, when he was living in Los Angeles and she in Florida.
When the pandemic started, the couple hunkered down with Jake’s family in Florida. “When I saw how well she got along with my parents and sister ... I knew she was the one,” says Jake.
Bruce agrees. “We knew from the beginning ... Brandi brought out Jake’s best and happiest version of himself.”
Now with Bruce’s daughter Jenny engaged, Bruce is brainstorming how to top his performance at her wedding — maybe a parody of the Tommy Tutone song “867-5309?”
Bruce doesn’t get stage fright.
“My endorphins kicked in,” Bruce said of his performance at Jake and Brandi’s wedding. “I had the best time of my life.”
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