It was a same-sex first for city cons as two inmates at the Edmonton Institution for Women tied the knot yesterday.

In a small and quiet ceremony the two women - who haven't been named by corrections officials - were married last night.

It's the first time a same-sex marriage has happened at the women's prison - and only the second such behind-bars ceremony in Canada.

Two men were married at Ontario's Bath Institution in November 2006.

"It's certainly a first for the Edmonton Institution for Women," said assistant warden Gary Sears.

The ceremony was performed by a minister, and the women were married in their street clothes, Sears said.

The inmates were allowed to complete the ceremony without handcuffs, but they remained under the watchful eye of prison guards the whole time, he said.

Unfortunately for the happy couple, the wedding night was a lonely one. Prison policy prevents them from consummating the union, and they remain in separate cells.

One of the inmates is serving a two-year, nine-month and 30-day sentence for break and enter, assault with a weapon and aggravated assault, Sears said. She is scheduled for release on Nov. 18.

The second inmate was jailed for six years for manslaughter, assault and assaulting a peace officer. She is scheduled for release on Dec. 6.

Murray Billett, a prominent member of Edmonton's gay community, called the union "incredible.

"I think it's nothing short of outstanding."

But Kevin Grabowsky, president of the Prairie region of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers, which represents guards at the EIFW, said his union opposed the marriage.

"We don't think this should be allowed," Grabowsky said.

"It's the value and ethics of getting married in jail while they're serving time together in the same institution.

"It's not Club Fed, where you go and meet your spouse."

He added guards have concerns about security.

"What if they have a marital spat? What if one of them gets transferred? Would the other one have to be transferred?"

And what happens, he said, if one half of the couple gets into a dispute with a guard over, for example, a cell search.

Would her spouse try to exact revenge?

Sears said guards and institution administration will monitor the case closely to ensure there are no problems.

Before the wedding ceremony was given the go-ahead, CSC investigated the risk to staff, other inmates and visitors, he said.

And Correctional Service Canada might have had some trouble blocking the wedding.

Marriage licences fall under provincial jurisdiction; CSC, being federal, has no say over who can get married.

EIFW is home to 117 prisoners.