His Money + Her Looks = a Match

Lisa Daily, a 39-year-old dating expert and author of "Stop Getting Dumped!" agreed, and said: "The fact is, no matter what we say, biology compels us. For men, it's an attractive woman; for women, it's a good provider. They are stereotypes, but they are tried and true."

Pretty Tough Odds

A 2005 speed-dating survey, co-written by Sheena Iyengar, a professor at Columbia University's business school, backed Daily's claims. The survey concluded that women showed a greater preference for men who came from affluent neighborhoods, and that the majority of guys responded first to physical attractiveness.

A similar online dating study, cited in the 2005 book "Freakonomics," suggested that women place almost twice as much emphasis on income as men do, and that a woman's looks are of "paramount importance" to men.

So, are guys really only after hot gals? According to Spindel, many times the answer is yes, especially when it comes to extremely successful men.

"At the end of the day, you can go to Harvard and you can go to Brown … but there's not a chance in China that you'll get a second date unless you're pretty," she said.

But even Spindel admitted that wasn't always the case. She believes romance sometimes just comes down to chemistry. "That's an intangible that nobody can account for," she said. "Men will not have chemistry with a woman unless they're attracted to her."

Spindel should know. She's said her matchmaking skills have resulted in more than 750 trips to the altar. But her services don't come cheap. After a man hires her to find him a wife, she negotiates the pay based on his age, salary and location, which can range anywhere from $25,000 to $100,000.

Put a Price on Happiness?

"It's a small price to pay to be happy for the rest of your life," she said.

Spindel was on hand when 40 single men and 40 single women met at Bruno Jamais, an upscale French restaurant on New York's Upper East Side. An icebreaker got the night rolling, according to Daily, who said the two- to three-hour Natural Selection event would include six- to eight-minute dates.