If you have never heated with either wood or pellets, then you should understand that both require some sort of work and maintenance. Just as your main heating system will require work and maintenance (that electrical/propane bill is paying for someone else to do the work to secure the fuel). You don't say you have burned wood before, so I will respond under that assumption. I have used both and these are solely my opinions from past experience.
A wood stove will require wood - which means you either have to find a place you can fell your own trees, cut into length, split, dry (1-3 years) and stack; OR, you pay someone else to do it (We cut our own). Then you have to haul it into the house and feed the stove - maybe several times a day. You also have to clean up bark, dirt, insects, the occasional rodent etc along with cleaning ash out of the stove on a regular basis. If your stove and pipe install is good, then there aren't many parts to break. I believe catalytic converters do need to be maintained (assuming you go with a cat stove - our stove wasn't).
Pellets are always gotten from someone else per bag or by the pallet (a ton). The decision is where you get the pellets, what quality you can live with (I can live with middling quality, others need the higher end), and how you get the pellets to your place; do you haul yourself or do you pay a delivery charge? The nice thing about pellets is they don't have the mess of bark/dirt and rarely have insects or rodents so it is easier to store a bunch in your house instead of outside. Depending on the stove, you could be required to remove ashes every day, or go a month or more (depending on use) before ash removal. Each brand also has different basic maintenance techniques that you can pay someone to do, or perform yourself - that basic maintenance is usually somewhere around a ton of use.
Make no mistake, pellet stoves have moving parts and electrical needs, so parts breaking/wearing is more likely with a pellet stove as to a wood stove (excepting Cat). Pellets, IMHO are easier and cleaner to deal with and since I don't have any area outside to store wood, work best for my circumstance. Oh yea another consideration, wood stoves can still be used if the electricity goes out. Pellet stoves (except WiseWays) depend on electricity.
Only you and your wife can determine what is best for your circumstances (like is she willing/able to help - and if so, to what extent?).
Good luck with your decision!
