Gender reveal descends into ‘chaos’ as blunder sets off alarm for whole hour
Finding out the gender of your unborn baby is a magical moment for a lot of parents, and one that you definitely wouldn't want to be ruined with the wailing of an alarm.
There'll be enough wailing when the baby actually arrives - you definitely don't need to add to it before then...
Unfortunately, one couple weren't able to escape the scream of an alarm after a smoke cannon at their gender reveal party set it off, causing their guests to spend an entire hour of the event trying to turn it off again.
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The unfortunate turn of events took place when mum-to-be Stonney Sabinorio, 29, and husband Francis Sabinorio, 27, invited their friends and family to a gender reveal party in London on 1 June.
To announce the gender of their baby, the couple had brought in a cannon which Stonney was convinced contained confetti.
It was only when they set off the cannon that she realised she was wrong. There was some confetti, but there was also a cloud of bright pink smoke.
Stonney, from London Borough of Brent, North West London, recalled: "Popping the cannon was such a happy moment. We were given 5-10 minutes to enjoy it, and then the alarm started ringing."
Looking back, the mum-to-be has stressed that she never would have used the cannon if she knew it contained smoke as the whole party soon descended into 'chaos'.
"We thought that they were confetti. If we knew that they were powder, of course we wouldn't have used them because we were indoors," she said.
Attendees attempted to stand on top of one another in a bid to turn off the alarm, with scenes from the party showing Stonney and Francis smiling happily while guests practically create a human pyramid in the background.
"I really saw everyone's teamwork. They were carrying each other, and everyone was coming over to us to take pictures but my eyes were just on the alarm," she recalled.
"Everything in my head was chaos. I was smiling on the outside for all my friends that wanted to take pictures of me, but my head was really on that alarm.
"I wanted it to turn off - there's nothing I can do as well. I'm pregnant so I couldn't even do it myself."
Stonney said 'no one' knew how to stop the alarm, and the group were scared that firefighters would come out if they couldn't turn it off.
After a while, however, the partygoers just 'got used' to the alarm, and the DJ started trying to drown it out by playing some disco music. Eventually, they were able to find the main power switch and finally return to an alarm-free party.
With their baby girl due to arrive in August, Stonney and Francis are now looking back on the party as a 'funny memory', and looking forward to the new addition to their family.
"Me and my husband were so happy, especially when we knew about the girl. It was just annoying because the momentum stopped when the alarm started ringing," Stonney said.
"After we turned it off, we just carried on with the party... It's a good job that the alarm went off at the end, after the gender reveal, because what if that happened midway through? It would have ruined everything...
"It's a very funny memory to look back on. It's very memorable. Me and my family designed everything from start to finish, and everyone had a great moment [together] as well."
It will definitely be a story to tell the baby girl when she's older!
Emily Brown