Bruins Anthem Singer Todd Angilly Surprises Massachusetts Groom at Wedding With ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ and a Foghorn That Turned a Hockey Fan’s Reception Into a Family Memory
MASSACHUSETTS, MA — A Massachusetts bride gave her hockey-loving groom a wedding surprise he did not see coming: Bruins national anthem singer Todd Angilly showed up to perform at the reception. The moment was designed to delight Billy DeBlois, a lifelong Bruins fan who grew up in a big hockey family on the South Coast.
What began as an ordinary wedding celebration quickly turned into a full-on Boston sports moment. Angilly sang “The Star-Spangled Banner,” a foghorn sounded, and guests broke into cheers as the groom realized the performance was for him and his bride, Ahna Baccala.
The bride kept the secret until the reception reveal
Baccala said she had been holding onto the plan for a long time and was eager for her husband to finally experience it in person. She hired Angilly because she knew how much the surprise would mean to DeBlois, whose connection to the Bruins runs deep through years of family tradition and shared games.
DeBlois was seated at the sweetheart table when the surprise started to unfold. He said he had no idea what was coming and was stunned not only by Angilly’s appearance, but by the fact that the singer addressed the couple by name while presenting them to the room.
That detail made the moment feel even more personal. DeBlois recalled thinking, “He knows my name?” as the reception shifted from wedding dinner to a memory tailored to one guest’s lifelong fandom.
A Bruins tradition became part of the couple’s own story
The pair had built part of their relationship around attending Bruins games together, so the idea of bringing a familiar team figure into their wedding fit naturally with their story. DeBlois had even joked before the ceremony that Angilly should officiate the wedding, but Baccala had a different plan in mind.
Instead of making the singer part of the ceremony itself, she saved the surprise for the reception, where the reaction would be shared with friends and family. The choice made the performance feel less like a novelty and more like an extension of the couple’s own routine of celebrating hockey together.
For DeBlois, the reveal hit especially hard because it blended two major parts of his life: marriage and Bruins devotion. He said the reaction was not just disbelief, but tears of happiness and excitement at seeing Angilly walk in and deliver the unexpected tribute.
Angilly says the role is about more than a pregame anthem
Angilly said moments like this are part of what has made his job meaningful. He described his role not simply as standing at center stage before games, but as someone who gets to enter a room and make people smile.
He said he once thought singing the anthem before Bruins games would be the extent of the experience. Instead, the position has become something he treasures, because it allows him to connect with fans in ways that go beyond the scoreboard.
Angilly expressed gratitude for the way the role has evolved. The wedding appearance, in his telling, was another example of how a public-facing tradition can take on a more personal life when it reaches fans at milestones such as weddings and family celebrations.
Photos, handshakes and selfies kept the celebration going
Angilly did not leave after the song. He stayed to take photos with the couple, moved around to greet guests table by table, and posed for selfies throughout the reception. That extra time became part of the surprise’s lasting impact, especially for DeBlois, who noticed the singer’s willingness to spend time with everyone there.
DeBlois later said he appreciated Angilly’s effort to connect with the room, calling it a sign of how seriously he takes every appearance. For guests, the encounter extended the feeling of the reveal from a single performance into a broader celebration that mixed sports nostalgia with wedding-day joy.
The foghorn, the anthem and the personal interactions all reinforced the same message: this was not just a cameo, but a carefully delivered gift that turned the reception into something friends and family would remember long after the last dance.
A honeymoon in France, and a Bruins memory that will stick
The couple is now celebrating their honeymoon in France, but the wedding surprise will travel with them in a different way. Every Bruins home game they follow from now on is likely to bring them back to the moment Angilly stepped in and turned a reception into a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
For Baccala, the payoff was watching a secret she had guarded finally land exactly as she hoped. For DeBlois, it was the thrill of being singled out by a familiar Bruins voice and seeing a lifelong team passion woven into one of the biggest days of his life.
The wedding moment worked because it was personal, specific and tied to something the groom already loved. In a room full of family and friends, the surprise connected hockey, marriage and memory in a way that will likely stay with the couple every time they hear a Bruins anthem or a foghorn again.
Chicago's music scene, one story at a time — Chicago Music Guide.
